The issue of India handing over to Sri Lanka, Katchatheevu, an uninhabited island spread over nearly 285 acres in the Palk Strait separating the Tamil Nadu coast from northern Sri Lanka, rocked the Assembly on Wednesday. The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Ministers accused the then DMK government led by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi of “failing to stop” the Centre from handing over the island to Sri Lanka in 1974.

During the discussion on the demands for grants for the Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare departments, Ramanathapuram MLA Katharbatcha Muthuramalingam (DMK) highlighted the ordeals faced by fishermen from Tamil Nadu at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy in mid-sea, particularly after the enactment of a law in Sri Lanka that provided for the confiscation of fishing vessels in addition to the arrest of fishermen.

Minister for Water Resources N. Anand intervened and said it was the DMK that had given away Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. DMK members objected to his remarks.

DMK Whip E.V. Velu said Katchatheevu was handed over to Sri Lanka based on a decision taken by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had opposed the move, he said, adding the issue had been raised several times and resolutions passed in the Assembly seeking the retrieval of Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka.

Minister for Energy Resources and Law C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar questioned what the Tamil Nadu government of that time had done even if the Union government had decided to hand over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. Mr. Kumar referred to a similar attempt by the Union government in the 1950s to transfer Berubari Union to the then East Pakistan.

He said the then West Bengal Chief Minister B.C. Roy approached the Supreme Court and won a case against the transfer of Indian territory in 1960. The Minister said when the Union government decided to hand over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, Foreign Secretary Kewal Singh discussed the matter with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi not once, but twice. “Kalaignar [M. Karunanidhi] himself told media persons about Kewal Singh discussing the matter with him. Only with the consent of Kalaignar, Katchatheevu was given to Sri Lanka. If Kalaignar had wanted to, he could have prevented it,” Mr. Kumar said.

The Minister also claimed Kewal Singh had “threatened” Karunanidhi with cases and thereby made him accept the decision.

Mr. Velu strongly objected to Mr. Kumar’s speech, saying he was giving “incorrect” information. He reiterated Katchatheevu was handed over by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi without the consent of the State government.

Meanwhile, AIADMK MLA Thalavai Sundaram said in 2008, then AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa had filed a case in the Supreme Court concerning the Katchatheevu issue, in which both the Union and State governments were made parties.

However, the State government did not file a counter-affidavit until 2011, he said. The Union government, on the other hand, filed a counter-affidavit stating Katchatheevu belonged to Sri Lanka. At the time, the Congress-DMK alliance was in power at the Centre, he said, alleging the DMK had acted in a “partial manner”.

Congress floor leader Tharahai Cuthbert said while the Congress government at the Centre had given 285 acres of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, it had secured 25 lakh acres of the Wadge Bank, a resource-rich area. “Why is this agreement not being spoken about?” she asked.