Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday said a number of clauses of the Katchatheevu agreement were being violated and the recent happenings are proving it again.
Answering a query on the External Affairs Minister S M Krishna’s comment that Katcha theevu agreement was a closed issue and there was no question for any reconsideration, Karunanidhi said: “It could be a closed chapter, but it had a number of clauses, agreed upon by the two countries and allow the Indian fishermen to go on pilgrimage there and allow them to exercise their traditional right for fishing in the area.
“The State’s concern would be that there should not be any obstacles to Tamil Nadu fishermen and Tamils living in Sri Lanka in Katchatheevu,” he said.
Karunanidhi, after inaugurating the website for the World Classical Tamil conference, told reporters that there were reports that these clauses have been withdrawn by the Lankan government during the emergency period and the recent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Lankan navy confirmed the violations of the agreement by Lanka.
“The question of reconsidering the agreement is not the immediate concern. It is important that Tamil Nadu fishermen and Tamils living in Lanka should not face any problems,” the CM said.
On the Marine Fisheries Bill, Karunanidhi said he had already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. He hoped that the Centre would take the State’s view into consideration.
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