Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 16 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday asserted that the DMK government in the state is taking all necessary steps to retrieve Katchatheevu to bring about a permanent solution to the fishermen issue.
Tamil Nadu CM while speaking at Mayiladuthurai, said that he had requested the Union government to ensure the release of Indian fishermen "suffering" in Sri Lankan prisons.
"Our government is taking all necessary steps towards retrieval of Katchatheevu. Whenever I meet the Prime Minister, I reiterate the need to retrieve Katchatheevu to bring about a permanent solution to the fishermen issue. We've in fact passed a resolution in the assembly for the same. We are constantly urging the union government to ensure the release of our fishermen who are suffering in Sri Lankan prisons along with their boats," Stalin said.
He further lambasted the Union government, which, according to him, is politicising the Katchatheevu matter.
"The Union BJP Govt which doesn't bother about Tamil Nadu and our fishermen is only politicising the Katchatheevu matter. Treaties with foreign countries usually come under the ambit of the union govt. What has the BJP government at the centre done in the last 10 years to retrieve Katchatheevu? Have they at least stopped the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities? No," the Tamil Nadu CM stated.
"Recently Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister has stated that Tamil Nadu fishermen are trespassing into their waters. He has been told that Sri Lanka will not give away their rights over Katchatheevu. Our External Affairs Minister Jaishankar has not so far given a rebuttal to this," he added.
CM Stalin urged the Prime Minister to directly intervene and bring a solution to theissue, assuring the state government's continued support for the fight.
Earlier this year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to take "immediate steps to review the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement at the earliest so that Katchatheevu Island is retrieved and the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen are permanently protected."
The Chief Minister said that the Tamil Nadu Government has been steadfast in opposing the Katchatheevu agreement, which was signed between the two countries in 1974.
"I am writing this letter to bring to your immediate attention the Resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on 02.04.2025 regarding the retrieval of Katchatheevu island, to protect the traditional fishing rights of the Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay area. I would like to point out that the origin of the problem is the Indo-Sri Lankan Treaty (Katchatheevu Agreement) made between the two countries in the year 1974," Stalin said in his letter.
"The Government of Tamil Nadu has been steadfast in opposing the Katchatheevu agreement right from the beginning. The Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu had strongly opposed the ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in Parliament in 1974," he claimed.
The Chief Minister said that after the signing of the Katchatheevu Agreement by the Union Government on June 28, 1974 "without the consent of the State Government", the then Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi immediately convened an all-party meeting at the Secretariat on the very next day on 29.06.1974 and "passed a resolution condemning it" and wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister on the same day.
"Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on 21.08.1974 strongly opposing the decision of the Union Government on the issue of Katchatheevu. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed similar resolutions on 03.10.1991, 03.05.2013 and 05.12.2014 reiterating the consistent demand of retrieving the Katchatheevu Island to protect the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen," he said.
"The frequent apprehensions of our fishermen and seizure of their boats in large numbers have put the lives of coastal communities in a state of permanent anxiety and distress. The livelihood of the fishermen has also become uncertain due to the arrests and seizures. I have personally brought this issue to your notice for immediate intervention during our first meeting on 17.06.2021 after my assumption of office as Chief Minister and also reiterated our earlier requests for a permanent solution to this issue in our subsequent meetings as well. Since 2021, I have also written many letters to the Honourable Minister for External Affairs and yourself on the arrests and attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy," Stalin added.
The Chief Minister pointed out that in the year 2024, 530 Indian fishermen were arrested and in the first three months of the year 2025, 147 fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.