Minister of Sri Lanka said there is “no basis” for India’s desire to get Kachchatheevu island returned

According to Douglas Devananda, the minister of fisheries in Sri Lanka, claims that India is “reclaiming” Kachchatheevu island from Sri Lanka are baseless.

The prominent Tamil politician from Sri Lanka made these remarks a few days after the Narendra Modi government accused the Congress Party and its allies in Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), of neglecting the interests of the country when they ceded Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974.

The two parties have also come under fire from the BJP for failing to protect the rights of fishermen who want to fish in the seas around Katchatheevu island.

Devananda told reporters in Jaffna on Thursday, “It is election time in India, so it is not unusual to hear such noises of claims and counterclaims about Kachchatheevu.”

“I believe that India is securing this location in order to guarantee that fishermen from Sri Lanka will not be able to access it, and that Sri Lanka will not be able to assert any rights in that productive area,” Devananda said.

According to Devananda, the claims of “reclaiming” Kachchatheevu from Sri Lanka’s grip are baseless.

The Minister from Sri Lanka said that fishing was permitted in both nations’ territorial seas as per the 1974 Agreement. However, in 1976, it was revised and reevaluated.

Consequently, fishing in adjacent seas was outlawed for fishermen from both nations.

Devananda emphasized, “There are claims to a place called West Bank, which is situated below Kanyakumari. India secured it at the 1976 review agreement. It is a much bigger area with extensive sea resources, 80 times bigger than Kachchatheevu.”

In recent months, the local fishermen have put pressure on Devananda, the Fisheries Minister.

To put an end to their Indian colleagues’ illicit fishing in Sri Lankan seas, the local fishermen have organized large-scale demonstrations. They claim that the interests of the Sri Lankan fishing community are harmed by Indian bottom trawling.

The Sri Lanka Navy has detained at least 178 Indian fishermen and 23 trawlers so far this year.

In 1994, a Chennai court declared Devananda, an ex-Tamil militant and current leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party, to be a proclaimed criminal.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) avoided the controversy surrounding Katchatheevu island on Thursday.

MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal cited recent remarks made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in response to a barrage of inquiries over the Katchatheevu problem.

He added, “I would like to inform you that the external affairs minister has spoken to the press here in Delhi and also in Gujarat, clarifying all the issues on the issues that have been raised.”

“I ask that you kindly review his press appearances. There, you will find the answers,” Jaiswal said in New Delhi.