Katchatheevu neither acquired nor ceded, lies in Sri Lankan maritime area – UBT leader

In a post on ‘X’, Chaturvedi pointed out that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) should be able to address the “discrepancies” in its RTI response in 2015 and its position in 2024.

Adding fuel to the Katchatheevu row, India’s Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi shared an RTI reply of 2015 where it was mentioned that the Katchatheevu island was neither acquired nor ceded and that it lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line.

In a post on ‘X’, Chaturvedi pointed out that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) should be able to address the “discrepancies” in its RTI response in 2015 and its position in 2024.

“Maybe @MEAIndia will be able to address these discrepancies in its RTI response in 2015 vis a vis 2024,” Chaturvedi said. “This did not involve either acquiring or ceding of territory belonging to India since the area in question had never been demarcated. Under the Agreements, the Island of Katchatheevu lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line,” the RTI reply which Chaturvedi said was from the MEA in 2015 read.

Chaturvedi claimed that the RTI reply was given when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was serving as the country’s Foreign Secretary. Alleging a difference in opinions she said, “Today the Foreign Minister and yesterday the India PM claimed it has been ‘ceded’ So is the change in stance for their election politics or has Modiji made a case for Sri Lanka?”