Kachchatheevu island ceded to Sri Lanka with DMK support: MoS Murugan continues BJP's attack on Congress, DMK

Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 2 (ANI): Union Minister of State and BJP's candidate from Nilgris Lok Sabha constituency L Murugan on Tuesday continued the BJP's attack on DMK and Congress over the "ceding" of the island of Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka.
"Kachchatheevu island was ceded to Sri Lanka by the Congress government with the support of DMK. Fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been facing lot of problems ever since the ceding," Murugan told ANI on the side-lines of his election campaign here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP's attack against both the DMK and the Congress over the Kachchatheevu issue, saying that both parties have done nothing to safeguard Tamil Nadu's interest.PM Modi accused the DMK of having double standards over the issue.
Murugan said that more shootouts at fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan navy happened during the UPA regime than during the NDA regime led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, in reaction to opposition charges that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is intentionally raking up the Kachchatheevu issue to increase its electoral prospects in Tamil Nadu ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that there is never any proper or improper time to talk about national issues.
"There is no proper or improper time to discuss the Kachchatheevu issue since it is about our national rights. We got the information through RTI. For nearly 50 years, propaganda is been done against truth," Sitharaman said on Tuesday while participating at an informal interaction programme organized by 'Thinkers Forum.'
The Union Finance Minister said that the Aksai Chin area was encroached upon when the Congress was in power in the Centre.
"Did Karunanidhi oppose the Congress at that time? No. Whether elections are ongoing or not, this issue should be known to people," Sitharaman said.
Responding to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin's allegation that the Centre did not release adequate funds to the state after floods, Sitharaman said, "We gave Rs 900 crores to the NDRF and SDRF even before floods."
"For Chennai, we allotted Rs 5000 crore for underground drainage. If they had used it well, Chennai would not have been affected. When we asked how it was spent, there was no response from them," the Finance Minister said. (ANI)