Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has intensified his call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct intervention to reclaim Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka, asserting it as the only permanent solution to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen’s traditional fishing rights in the Palk Bay. Speaking at a Mayiladuthurai event, Stalin accused the BJP-led Centre of politicizing the issue without action over its 10-year tenure, citing 147 fishermen arrests and 22 boat seizures by Sri Lanka in 2025 alone. He criticized External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s silence on Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda’s claim that Tamil Nadu fishermen trespass and Katchatheevu will not be returned. Stalin referenced the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s April 2, 2025, resolution demanding the island’s retrieval, a stance echoed in prior resolutions since 1974, when the DMK opposed the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement ceding Katchatheevu.

BJP spokesperson Narayan Tirupathy retorted that the DMK, in power in Tamil Nadu during the 1974 cession under Congress’s central rule, failed to act during its 14 years in the UPA government. He claimed the BJP has reduced hostilities, preventing Lankan Navy firings that killed nearly 1,000 fishermen under Congress and securing one fisherman’s release from a death sentence. Tirupathy emphasized ongoing India-Sri Lanka talks, including fisherman-to-fisherman dialogues, as a path forward.

Experts argue that fish stock depletion in Indian waters drives fishermen into Sri Lankan territory, suggesting a fishing rights agreement over territorial reclamation. With 23 fishermen and 229 boats still detained, the issue looms large ahead of Tamil Nadu’s 2026 elections.

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