Chidambaram calls Katchatheevu ‘manufactured controversy’
CHENNAI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday referred to the Katchatheevu issue that hit headlines in recent days as a “manufactured controversy” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The Prime Minister was silent for nine years, they documented that the Ministry of External Affairs holds the file, for nine years. Suddenly, in the middle of elections, they ask the BJP (state) president to submit an RTI question. Unbelievably, in nine years the reply comes. This is a manufactured controversy,” Chidambaram said.
The former minister said that the Tamil people are at risk of getting hurt if the unnecessary controversy leads to confrontation between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
“The Prime Minister is doing great injustice to the Sri Lankan Tamils. After the Katchatheevu agreement was signed nearly six lakh Tamils were repatriated to India and they are living peacefully here...There are 25 lakh Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka, there are still nearly 10 lakh Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka. Their interests are paramount. If you create a situation of confrontation between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils in Sri Lanka, between the
Sinhalese people and the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, it is the Tamil people who will be hurt,” Chidambaram said.
Lashing out at the BJP government for suddenly waking up to the issue after nine years and not making adequate efforts to fix the issue, Chidambaram said, “Having made a formal statement in 2015 why did the Prime Minister suddenly wake up nine years later? If he was so passionate about Katchatheevu what did he do in the last nine years? How many times have he visited Sri Lanka? How many times has the Prime Minister or the President of Sri Lanka visited India? How many times has (MEA) Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka?”
“The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in a memorandum raised the issue of Katchatheevu with the Prime Minister in a gathering at Nehru Stadium, Chennai. Why did the Prime Minister not reply?” Chidambaram asked.