"Has BJP mortgaged country's security...": DMK's Kanimozhi on China border dispute amid Katchatheevu row

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 1 (ANI): Coming out hard against the Bharatiya Janata Party amid the Katchatheevu island row, DMK leader Kanimozhi alleged that China has been allowed to infiltrate the country and even rename the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Accusing BJP of "spreading slander" in Tamil Nadu, she asked when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the border issue with China.
Taking to social media platform X, Kanimozhi said, "It is evident that Union BJP government has allowed China to infiltrate our country to the extent of them changing the name of Arunachal Pradesh. Has the BJP mortgaged the country's security for their own gain? When will PM Modi, who is spreading slander for votes in Tamil Nadu, address the China border issue?"

அருணாச்சல பிரதேசத்தின் பெயரை மாற்றும் அளவிற்கு நம் நாட்டிற்குள் சீனாவை ஊடுருவ, ஒன்றிய பாஜக அரசு அனுமதித்திருப்பது தெளிவாகத் தெரிகிறது. தங்களின் ஆதாயத்திற்காக, நாட்டின் பாதுகாப்பை அடைமானம் வைத்துவிட்டதா பாஜக?

தமிழ்நாட்டில் வாக்குக்காக அவதூறுகளைப் பரப்பும் பிரதமர் மோடி, சீன எல்லை… https://t.co/WdMRPemC8k

— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) April 1, 2024

The decades-old territorial and fishing rights dispute around Katchatheevu Island is in the limelight ahead of polling in Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha polls on April 19 with the BJP and the opposition engaged in a war of words over the issue.
PM Modi on Monday targeted Congress party and DMK over the Katchatheevu island issue. He said that Congress "callously" gave away the island. He also alleged the ruling party of Tamil Nadu did "nothing" to safeguard the state's interests.
"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 said in a post on X on Sunday referring to a media report.
"Rhetoric aside, DMK has done NOTHING to safeguard Tamil Nadu's interests. New details emerging on #Katchatheevu have UNMASKED the DMK's double standards totally. Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their own sons and daughters rise. They don't care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular," PM Modi said in another post on Monday.
The media report is based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai to his queries on the 1974 agreement between India and Lanka when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister.
Doubling down on PM Modi's charge at Opposition over the Katchatheevu island row, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today alleged that India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not give importance to the island territory.
"This is an observation by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in May of 1961. He says, he writes, I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it. I do not like matters like this pending. Indefinitely and being raised again and again in parliament. So to Pandit Nehru, this was a little island. It had no importance. He saw it as a nuisance," Jaishankar said at a press conference on Monday.
The island, located between Rameswaram in India and Sri Lanka, was traditionally used by both Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen.
In 1974, the then central government accepted Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory under the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement." (ANI)