'Katchatheevu Transfer Was Diplomacy': TN Congress Chief Defends Ex-PM Indira Gandhi Amid DMK's Resolution

Amid renewed political discourse over the retrieval of Katchatheevu, Selvaperunthagai responded to criticisms of the Congress-era decision.

Every year, devotees from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka take part in two-day annual St. Anthony's Church festival, at Katchatheevu Island.

Source : PTI

Tamil Nadu Congress President KS Selvaperunthagai has strongly defended the 1974 decision of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to cede Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, asserting that the move was a strategic act of diplomacy aimed at national and Tamil Nadu’s long-term interests.

Amid renewed political discourse over the island following Chief Minister MK Stalin’s recent resolution in the state Assembly urging the Centre to retrieve Katchatheevu, Selvaperunthagai responded to criticisms of the Congress-era decision. “This is diplomacy,” he said, highlighting the broader benefits secured for the nation at the time.

”We gave 285 acres of land to Sri Lanka... 6 lakh Tamilians were brought to Tamil Nadu. 1.5 lakh tea plantation workers got citizenship...Then there is Wadge Bank...There are a lot of gases and crude oil...She took lakhs and lakhs of acres for our country. This is diplomacy..." Selvaperunthagai explained, as per ANI.

#WATCH | Kancheepuram | On Kachchatheevu Island, Tamil Nadu Congress president K Selvaperunthagai says, "On the debate about Kachchtheevu issue last week, we said very clearly what former PM Indira Gandhi did for the national and Tamil Nadu's welfare. We gave 285 acres of land to… pic.twitter.com/GDXbtvGIDu

— ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2025

 

Katchatheevu: A Long-Standing Dispute

Katchatheevu, a small islet in the Palk Strait, lies between Rameswaram (India) and Jaffna (Sri Lanka). While Indian and Sri Lankan authorities had held discussions over the islet since 1921, it was in June 1974, during Indira Gandhi's tenure, that India officially handed over the island to Sri Lanka, as per a report on PTI. The agreement was reaffirmed in 1976, defining fishing rights and maritime boundaries.

Over the decades, the issue has remained a sensitive subject in Tamil Nadu due to frequent arrests and alleged harassment of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, often near or around Katchatheevu. Tamil Nadu leaders have repeatedly urged the central government to intervene and protect fishermen’s rights with demands ranging from diplomatic engagement to calls for reclaiming the island.