DMK president M Karunanidhi yesterday opposed in the Supreme Court the Indian Central Government's stand that Katchatheevu belonged to Sri Lanka in light of the 1974 agreement and said that the sovereignty over the islet “was never Sri Lanka but with India.”

The court granted Karunanidhi four weeks to file his rejoinder which he within a day of the hearing. He prayed that the islet be retrieved and the agreement declared null and void.

Speaking to Indian media Karunanidhi said “The status of Katchatheevu cannot be taken to have been settled by the 1974 agreement. Important historical documents and records prove that India’s sovereignty over the islet was not taken into consideration while the so-called ‘Agreement on the International Maritime Boundary line in historic waters between India and Sri Lanka and related matters’ was signed in 1974.”

Referring to the exchange of letters between the then Foreign Secretary, Kewal Singh, and W.T. Jayasinghe, Secretary to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs, Karunanidhi said these letters did not give the agreement any legal sanctity.

Karunanidhi also expressed his protest over the Sri Lankan fishermen issue and also mentioned that he was concerned about the well being of the Sri Lankan Tamils of the North.

(With reference to 'The Hindu')