CM Stalin of Tamil Nadu calls the RTI revelation “wrong information” and accuses the BJP of taking a “somersault” on Katchatheevu
With the Lok Sabha elections quickly approaching, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that the BJP has taken a “somersault” on the Katchatheevu issue.
Stalin said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacked the courage to fight China’s claims to Arunachal Pradesh or to denounce Sri Lanka for arresting fishermen. He asked, “How can he talk about Katchatheevu when that is the case?”
The president of the governing DMK attacked Modi at an electoral rally here on Tuesday, calling the disclosures made by the Center under the RTI Act on the Katchatheevu problem “wrong information” and calling for “drama” and “stories.”
He questioned how, in accordance with the RTI Act, the government had sent “wrong information” on the security of the country to a BJP member (Kannamalai, the head of Tamil Nadu state).
The BJP administration had previously claimed that the topic was subjudice since the case was still before the Supreme Court, failing to release any information on Katchatheevu. In 2015, the BJP government claimed that Katchatheevu was never a part of India. Staling stated that S Jaishankar, the foreign secretary at the time, had given such information.
“They have altered the material to suit their wishes since the elections are quickly approaching. Why is this flipping over?
Has Prime Minister Modi—who is now speaking on Katchatheevu—ever criticized Sri Lanka for arresting fishermen and using force against them during his ten years in office? During his address at the gathering, Stalin questioned, “Why did he not do that?”
The leader of the DMK also questioned Modi’s silence about China’s territorial claims to Arunachal Pradesh. “It takes guts to criticize Sri Lanka. It takes no bravery to stand up to China. How are you going to discuss Katchatheevu?” he said.
Stalin said that the BJP, which took office in 2014, had argued before the Supreme Court that going to war with Sri Lanka was the only way to get Katchatheevu back.
He insisted on knowing whether Prime Minister Modi had asked for Katchatheevu’s return during his visit to Sri Lanka and if he had told the neighboring nation that the island belonged to India. Stalin said that on his abroad journey, Modi had forgotten about Katchatheevu.
Stalin said that in order to protect fishermen’s customary fishing rights, he had requested the recovery of Katchatheevu on May 26, 2022, when the Prime Minister was in Chennai for an event.
“Remember that?” he said, criticizing Modi for creating a fuss and fabricating tales about the Katchatheevu problem.
Stalin questioned how the Center could have provided the petitioner with information on such a significant issue in “four working days” after receiving their application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
He said that while many people had requested information via the RTI, clear information was not given, and that for many years, there had been no suitable responses in Parliament when issues about Katchatheevu were addressed.
