Revoke 1974 pact with Lanka: Jayalalitha

CHENNAI: After banning Sri Lankan cricketers from playing IPL matches in the city, chief minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday racheted up the pressure on Colombo, warning that her government would move the Supreme Court for reclaiming the island of Kachchateevu if the Centre failed to prevent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Lankan navy.

Jayalalithaa urged the Centre to withdraw the 1974 accord with Sri Lanka under which the country handed over Kachchateevu to the island nation unless the attacks on fishermen from the state stopped. The chief minister said her government would approach the Supreme Court and cited the apex court’s judgement in 1960 upholding the West Bengal government’s claim to all of Berubari , a 75 sqkm corridor in Jalpaiguri district, half of which had been ceded to East Pakistan.

The chief minister said ceding of Kachchateevu in 1974 had resulted in attacks on Indian fishermen as Colombo failed to honour various provisions of the agreement relating to territorial rights. Her statement, expressing concern over the attacks, came during a call attention motion moved by the opposition in the assembly.

The Centre recently summoned Sri Lankan high commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam to formally register New Delhi’s protest over recurrent attacks on Tamil fishermen.

The attacks only added to anti-Lanka sentiments in the state where widespread protests were held over alleged war crimes against ethnic Tamils during the war against LTTE.