False propaganda has been spread in Tamil Nadu for more than 50 years about Katchatheevu island being ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974 without the knowledge of the State government, alleged senior BJP leader and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
Speaking to journalists in Chennai on the sidelines of a Viksit Bharat ambassadors programme, Ms. Sitharaman said the issue of Katchatheevu island, the ceding of which has erupted into a political controversy ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election, pertained to the national security and sovereignty of our country. “The reason we talk about Katchatheevu island now, which was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974, is because of the false propaganda that has been spread for more than 50 years that it was given away without the knowledge of the Tamil Nadu government.”
Ms. Sitharaman asked whether then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi (current incumbent M.K. Stalin’s father) had opposed the remarks made by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi about Katchatheevu island being “a piece of rock”.
