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DMK leader and Thoothukudi MP candidate Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said on Monday that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party is not silent on the Katchatheevu island row, alleging that the BJP-led ruling government is raising issues for the election campaign and not for the people's welfare.
"DMK is not silent on this issue. We raised this issue many times but PM Modi and the BJP government never replied. Speaking about Katchatheevu is just for election campaigning, not for people's welfare," she said. DMK Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi on Monday campaigned for South Chennai DMK candidate Sumathi, alias Tamilachi Thangapandiyan, in Tiruvanmayur. While campaigning for Sumathi, Kanimozhi hit out at the BJP for fielding Telangana's former governor, Tamilisai Soundararajan, from South Chennai, and said the party does not have any candidates, so they made Tamilisai resign from her post and contest the election. "One state governor had resigned to contest this constituency. This party (BJP) doesn't have candidates, so they made the governor of two states resign from her posts and contest the Lok Sabha elections. Last time, she contested from Thoothukudi but she lost the polls and became a state governor. It's a pity that this time, after losing, she can't even become governor, as this time the INDIA alliance will form the government," she said. Sitting MP Kanimozhi has been fielded against the DMK candidate from Thoothukudi Parliamentary constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April 19 in the state. The decades-old territorial and fishing rights dispute around Katchatheevu island is in the limelight ahead of the general elections with the BJP and the opposition engaged in a war of words over the issue. The island, located between Rameswaram in India and Sri Lanka, is traditionally used by both Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen. In 1974, the then central government accepted Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory under the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement." Meanwhile, voting for all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will be held in the first phase of the general elections on April 19. In the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, comprising the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, AIFB, registered a landslide victory, winning 38 of the 39 seats in the state. Elections to 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting April 19. (ANI)
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