Congress ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, DMK gave the green signal: G.K. Vasan

Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Vasan. File
| Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran

Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) president G.K. Vasan on Sunday, March 31, 2024 alleged that the Katchatheevu island was ceded to Sri Lanka when Congress was in power at the Centre and the green signal was given by the DMK in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to journalists in Chennai after releasing the election manifesto of TMC (M), Mr. Vasan said “It has become a routine for the DMK to talk about Hindi, when they know that people are going to vote against them. It is purely vote bank politics. They cannot cheat people by talking about Hindi…It was the Congress government at the Centre, which ceded Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. The green signal was given by the DMK. The BJP government has been taking steps to ensure the rights of fishermen.”

Commenting on the Cauvery River water dispute, Mr. Vasan said the State government should function beyond coalition politics to ensure the welfare of farmers. He alleged that the DMK government has not pressed for the rights of Tamil Nadu farmers in the meetings of the Cauvery Water Management Authority.

“Senior DMK leaders, including Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, visited Bengaluru to stitch a coalition but failed to reach out to the Karnataka government on the Cauvery issue. The Congress government in Karnataka is acting against the federal principles,” he charged.

He said the poll promises of his party focused on agriculture, education, health, employment generation, total prohibition and law and order. “The party is firm to stand by the Central government if they come up with capital punishment for sexual offenders against children.”

He expressed confidence that the candidates of the National Democratic Alliance would win with a “huge margin”, particularly in the constituencies in and around Chennai. “The opposition MPs did politics only in Jantar Mantar in Delhi and near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament. They did not come to streets in their respective constituencies to resolve the grievances of the people.”