"Congress gave away Kachchatheevu island to Sri Lanka for political reasons," says Tejasvi Surya
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing debate on the constitution in Parliament, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of giving away Kachchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974 for political reasons.
He claimed that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was ready to give away Siachen to Pakistan. "This is their commitment to the territorial integrity of this country, Surya added.
"A very important (Kachchatheevu) island belonging to India was gifted, given away for political reasons by the Congress. This is not the first instance. Even in the case of Aksai Chin and more recently it was learned that the UPA government was ready to even give away Siachen to Pakistan. This is their commitment to the territorial integrity of this country..." BJP MP Suryav said in Lok Sabha.
The BJP MP said that Parliament was not taken into consideration while giving away the Kachchatheevu island. He said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) under M Karunanidhi also supported it.
"Pandit Nehru was asked about this (Kachchatheevu) Island which was part of the then Madras presidency. He said, 'I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it.' This was his position on a very important island. DMK under Karunanidhi also supported it. Parliament was not taken into confidence," Surya added.
The BJP MP further attacked Congress, saying that the party didn't subscribe to the view that India was a millennia-old state and they approached India as a union of states.
"Starting from the first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru to the communists and the others who followed, India was not considered sacred geography because they didn't have the civilisational worldview that India was a millennia-old state. They approach India as a union of states, more a private jaagir, any part of which could be given to anybody. The attack on the Constitution by the Congress party started from the very first article...Congress government and the DMK gave away Kachchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974 without following any due process envisioned in the constitution," Surya said.
