The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution moved by Chief Minister M K Stalin, urging the Union government to initiate all possible steps to retrieve Katchatheevu Island from Sri Lanka by reviewing the pact signed between India and the island nation in 1974.
This is the fourth time the Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed such a resolution, with earlier ones moved by former CMs J Jayalalithaa (1991, 2013) and O Panneerselvam (2014).
“Retrieval of Katchatheevu can be the only permanent solution to safeguard the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen and avert all the troubles faced by them from the Sri Lankan Navy,” the resolution stated.
The resolution comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka on April 4 (Friday) and to Rameswaram on April 6 (Sunday) to inaugurate the new Pamban Rail Bridge.
The resolution urged Modi to use the Sri Lankan visit to engage with the government there and secure the release of Indian fishermen lodged in prisons and boats seized by Sri Lanka as a goodwill measure. Though opposition parties AIADMK and BJP questioned the DMK’s renewed interest in the issue, they extended their full support to the resolution.
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