New Delhi, 26 June (H.S.):

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused the Congress of committing a historic blunder by handing over Katchatheevu Island, located in the Palk Strait off the coast of Tamil Nadu, to Sri Lanka under the 1974 bilateral agreement. The party also described the decision as a glaring example of the Congress government's shameful foreign policy.

Addressing the media, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said that June 26 marks another dark chapter in what he described as the Congress party's calendar of surrender. He said that on this day in 1974, the then Congress government ceded Katchatheevu Island, situated near Tamil Nadu, to Sri Lanka.

Trivedi claimed that the decision has caused numerous hardships for fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

He also said that St. Anthony's Shrine, a revered pilgrimage site for the Christian community located on the island, remains inaccessible to Indian fishermen if they display the Indian national flag on their boats while travelling there, alleging that this reflects the consequences of the Congress government's foreign policy. He described the anniversary as a reminder of what he termed the Congress party's shameful diplomatic decisions.

The BJP leader further alleged that the Congress party's calendar of surrender began with the Partition of India in 1947, which he claimed amounted to yielding to the Muslim League.

He went on to allege that the Congress government surrendered Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1948, ceded Aksai Chin to China in 1962, and nearly lost Assam during the same period. He further claimed that India subsequently lost access to Kailash Mansarovar and that Katchatheevu was handed over to Sri Lanka on June 26, 1974, with Sri Lanka formally assuming control on June 28. Calling it a tragic chapter, Trivedi said the present generation should remember these events as examples of how, according to him, the Congress compromised India's national interests.

Trivedi also criticised the Congress party over the Kerala government's recent decision to reduce excise duty on low-alcohol beverages. He alleged that the Congress, which is part of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala, appeared to be intoxicated with power. He claimed that the Kerala government had reduced the excise duty on low-alcohol liquor from 251 per cent to 121 per cent, effectively cutting the tax by more than half, and described the move as highly objectionable.

Notably, the Katchatheevu Island Agreement was a bilateral accord signed between India and Sri Lanka in 1974. Under the agreement, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recognised Sri Lanka's sovereignty over the uninhabited 285-acre island located in the Palk Strait.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar