Sat Jun 28 19:37:41 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary of the provided text and a rewritten version as a news article:

**Summary:**

The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president, K. Selvaperunthagai, has accused the BJP of exploiting the Katchatheevu issue to distract from the Union government’s failure to protect Tamil fishermen from harassment by the Sri Lankan Navy. He refuted claims that Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka during the Emergency, stating the agreement was signed before the Emergency was imposed. He questioned why previous BJP governments, including those led by Vajpayee and Modi, did not address the Katchatheevu issue with Sri Lanka if it was the root cause of the fishermen’s problems. He emphasized that Tamil fishermen are arrested for unintentionally crossing into Sri Lankan waters, not near Katchatheevu, and urged the government to negotiate fishing rights for them.

**News Article:**

**Congress Accuses BJP of Using Katchatheevu to Deflect from Fishermen’s Plight**

**CHENNAI, June 29, 2025** – The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) has launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the ruling party of exploiting the decades-old Katchatheevu island issue to divert public attention from its alleged failure to safeguard Tamil fishermen from ongoing harassment and violence perpetrated by the Sri Lankan Navy.

In a strongly worded statement, TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai alleged that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was attempting to mask the ineffectiveness of the BJP-led Union government in addressing the plight of Tamil Nadu fishermen over the past eleven years.

Selvaperunthagai firmly refuted claims that the Katchatheevu island was ceded to Sri Lanka during the Emergency period in India. “The External Affairs Minister has made factually incorrect statements,” he asserted. “The agreement [to cede the island] was signed on June 26, 1974, before the Emergency was in effect.” He noted that Parliament, including representatives from the BJP, debated the issue when it was addressed in the Lok Sabha in July 1974.

The TNCC president further questioned the BJP’s commitment to resolving the issue, asking why successive BJP Prime Ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, had failed to raise the Katchatheevu matter during talks with Sri Lankan leaders. “If Katchatheevu was truly the root cause of the fishermen’s problems, the Indian government should have raised this with Sri Lanka,” he stated.

Selvaperunthagai emphasized that Tamil fishermen are typically apprehended when they inadvertently cross the maritime boundary into Sri Lankan waters, especially during nighttime fishing, and not specifically near the Katchatheevu island. He urged the Union government to prioritize negotiations with Sri Lanka to secure fishing rights for Tamil Nadu fishermen in those waters, safeguarding their livelihoods.

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