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Calling the Katchatheevu agreement between India and Sri Lanka "unfortunate" which was signed under the tenure of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) founder TR Paarivendhar on Thursday said that the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi was pretty much aware with the situation at that time and questioned as to why he allowed Indira Gandhi to progress with the deal.
Speaking to ANI, TR Paarivendhar said, "This (Katchatheevu agreement) cannot happen without the knowledge of then Chief Minister Karunanidhi. It happened with the knowledge of Karunanidhi. I don't know how he allowed Indira Gandhi to go into such an agreement which shows that it was never concerned about the future problems of Tamil Nadu due to this agreement with Sri Lanka." The fishermen in the region are suffering as a consequence of this agreement, Paarivendhar said. "Kachchatheevu is an issue about 50-60 years old. There was an agreement between Bandaranaike and Indira Gandhi at that time. It is a small area, however it was a valuable property for our fishermen. Many people still go there. However, quite often our Indian fishermen are arrested, and humiliated and their nets are also seized. This is very unfortunate. Our fishermen are really suffering. This agreement should not have happened," he said. 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." Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his style of governance, TR Paarivendhar said that India is getting much higher global recognition after Narendra Modi took up the office as Prime Minister. "Earlier, everyone thought that India was a poor country and we were not considered much. However, now the world looks up to India and the great name that he has earned for himself is naturally transformed to the Indians including the state of Tamil Nadu. Apart from that, our Prime Minister is very fond of the Tamil language which is rich and culturally wealthy. He is working very hard to see that India should go further in terms of finance and development," he said. Paarivendhar further said that DMK never allows the Parliament to function. "They (DMK) used to create some or the other issue. They wanted to stop the function of the Parliament thus wasting the money of Indian people," he said. Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin slammed the BJP for raising the Kachchatheevu issue ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and said that the issue has started to backfire now. "How many times PM Narendra Modi has gone to Sri Lanka in the last 10 years? Has he asked the Sri Lankan government to give back Kachchatheevu Island even once? When he met the Sri Lankan president did he say that Katchatheevu Island belongs to India? At that time Katchatheevu is not remembered by PM Modi," Stalin said. TR Paarivendhar is a sitting MP and represents Perambalur in the Lok Sabha. He will contest the Lok Sabha elections from the seat again this time. The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election. All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 19 and the counting of votes will be held on June 4. (ANI)
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