Stalin slams BJP for 'somersault' on Katchatheevu, dubs RTI disclosure 'wrong information'
Vellore (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has said that the BJP has done a "somersault" on the Katchatheevu issue since the Lok Sabha polls are round the corner.
Stalin claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the guts to either condemn Sri Lanka over fishermen arrests or oppose China on its claims over Arunachal Pradesh. When that is the case, how can he talk about Katchatheevu, he said.
In an election rally here on Tuesday, the president of the ruling DMK hit out at Modi for staging a "drama" and coming up with "stories" on the Katchatheevu issue and dubbed the disclosures by the Centre on the matter under the RTI Act as "wrong information."
He asked how the government had given "wrong information" concerning the nation's security under the RTI Act to an individual belonging to the BJP (Tamil Nadu state chief K Annamalai).
The BJP government had earlier failed to provide answers on Katchatheevu by stating that the subject was subjudice as the matter was pending before the Supreme Court. The BJP regime in 2015 said that Katchatheevu had never been a part of India. That information was provided by S Jaishankar, the then foreign secretary, Staling claimed.
"Since the elections are round the corner, they have changed the information as per their wish. Why this somersault?
Has PM Modi, during his 10-year tenure, who is now talking on Katchatheevu, ever condemned Sri Lanka over the arrest of fishermen and the instances of firing against them? Why did he not do that," Stalin said, during his speech at the rally.
The DMK chief also questioned why Modi has not spoken on China, which is claiming that Arunachal Pradesh is its territory. "There is no courage to censure Sri Lanka. There is no courage to oppose China. How can you talk about Katchatheevu," he said.
The BJP, which came to power in 2014 submitted in the Supreme Court that war with Sri Lanka was the only option to have Katchatheevu back, Stalin said.
He demanded to know if PM Modi, during his visit to Sri Lanka, had sought the return of Katchatheevu and if he conveyed to the neighbouring country that the island belonged to India. Modi did not remember Katchatheevu during his foreign visit, Stalin alleged.
Stalin also said that on May 26, 2022, during the Prime Minister's visit to Chennai for an event, he had sought retrieval of Katchatheevu to uphold the traditional fishing rights of fishermen.
"Do you remember that," he said, slamming Modi for staging a drama and cooking up stories on the Katchatheevu issue.
Stalin wondered how the Centre furnished information on such an important matter to the petitioner in "four working days" from the receipt of application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
For many years, there were no appropriate answers in Parliament whenever questions were raised on Katchatheevu and though several persons had sought information under RTI, clear information was not provided, he said.
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Hit by car, delivery agent dies after falling from flyover in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A food delivery agent died after falling from the Dabri flyover in southwest Delhi when his scooter was allegedly hit by a car on Thursday morning, police said.
The car driver fled from the spot, police said.
A PCR call was received at 7:35 am informing that a person had fallen from the Dabri flyover on Pankha road and required immediate medical assistance, they said.
A police team rushed to the spot and found a damaged scooter and a car on the flyover. The scooter rider sustained serious injuries and was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital in an ambulance, where doctors declared him dead, they added.
According to police, the victim was identified as Rajkumar, a resident of Jharkhand's Godda district. He was working as a delivery executive with a private food delivery service in Delhi.
The car involved in the accident bears a Delhi registration number and is registered in the name of a Dabri resident, police said.
"The body has been preserved in a mortuary and efforts are underway to apprehend the absconding driver," a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the accident, police said.
