Katchatheevu Row: Mallikarjun Kharge Counters PM Modi, Says Sudden Focus on Territorial Issues Amid Lok Sabha Election

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress party on Sunday, March 31, over the Katchatheevu island controversy, party president Mallikarjun Kharge also raised significant questions regarding the Modi government's approach towards territorial integrity and national security.

This comes after a Right To Information (RTI) report revealed the 1974 decision of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government to hand over the strategic island of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka.

Kharge slammed the Prime Minister, alleging that the BJP leader has "only just woken up to issues of territorial integrity and national security." Terming the two terms of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governance as “misrule," Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable."

Also Read | Katchatheevu Row: Amit Shah Criticizes Congress, Says ‘They Only Want To Divide or Break Our Nation’.

Citing the “misdeeds" of PM Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge urged the PM to stop “obsessing" over Congress. Kharge took to microblogging site X to flag four instances of his allegations.

Kharge in his second point talked about Modi's statement about Katchatheevu island. PM Modi in a post on X has alleged that Congress “callously" gave away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. 

Pradhan Mantri @narendramodi ji,

You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable.

1. "The Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) March 31, 2024

PM Modi's response came after a Right To Information (RTI) report revealed how the Congress government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi handed over Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974. "Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds - we can’t ever trust Congress! Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting," PM Modi wrote on X, while citing a media report.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge replied to this tweet by PM Modi and said that in an agreement similar to the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh in 1974, based on a friendly gesture, a similar initiative was taken up with Sri Lanka on Katchatheevu.

"On the eve of elections in Tamil Nadu, you are raising this sensitive issue, but your own Government's Attorney General, Shri Mukul Rohtagi, told the Supreme Court the following in 2014.

“Katchatheevu went to Sri Lanka by an agreement in 1974… How can it be taken back today? If you want Katchatheevu back, you will have to go to war to get it back."

Pradhan Mantri ji, you should tell, did your Govt take ANY steps to resolve this issue and take back Katchatheevu?" Kharge's tweet read.

Flagging PM Modi's silence on the border tension with China, Kharge said, “Gandhi ji, Pandit Nehru ji, Sardar Patel ji, Indira Gandhi ji, Rajiv Gandhi ji - all our beloved leaders lived and died for India's unity, our territorial integrity. Sardar Patel ji played a vital role in uniting 600 princely states. In contrast, you, PM Modi, gave a CLEAN CHIT to China, after 20 bravehearts made supreme sacrifice in Galwan Valley."

Also Read | How India Handed Over Katchatheevu Control to Sri Lanka in 1974, Shows RTI Reply

Further, Kharge talked about the clashes and diplomatic tension with the Maldives and Nepal and said, "What is not eye-opening and startling is how you raised the belligerence levels of even otherwise friendly neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives!"

The Congress president is attending the INDIA bloc Maharally being held to protest the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AP) leader Arvind Kejriwal. The ED has taken custody of CM Kejriwal under PMLA in relation to the now-scrapped Delhi Liquor Policy scam case.