Why Is Katchatheevu In Debate? PM Modi Mentioned It In His Lok Sabha Speech

PM Modi’s speech against the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha was a record in itself. His 2 hours and 13 minutes speech made a new record for the longest speech in Lok Sabha so far. Before this, Lal Bahadur Shastri had this record in his name, his speech lasted for 2 hours and 12 minutes.

During his speech, Narendra Modi touched on various aspects of governance and emphasized his motive of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’. He also presented the data on how the campaigns of his government, namely, Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India, Jan Dhan Yojana, etc. have changed the lives of downtrodden people in India.

Answering the allegations of breaking India put by Rahul Gandhi, he stated that his government has always put its best efforts towards collective growth. It was in the governance of Congress that the people of North East were unable to sing the national anthem. PM Modi also mentioned Katchatheevu in his speech and questioned why did we lose it.

Katchatheevu is an island located between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka which was used by fishermen of both nations for their livelihood. The territory was given to Srilanka in 1974 under the ‘Indo-Srilankan Maritime Agreement’. It was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who accepted Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory.

Since then, Tamilians have appealed many times to the central government to get back the land. “The DMK government in Tamil Nadu keeps writing to me urging to bring Katchatheevu back to India”, said PM Modi.

Indira Gandhi was always known for her befitting response to Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, while the ‘donation’ of Katchatheevu island was not known to many before PM Modi’s speech in the parliament.