'No Controversy, Issue Settled 50 Years Ago': Sri Lanka First Reaction Over Katchatheevu Row

New Delhi: Sri Lanka finally reacts to the ongoing Katchatheevu island row, with the Foreign Minster Ali Sabry saying that the issue was settled 50 years ago and there's no need to revisit it.

Sabry made the statement at an iftar party where local media quoted him saying, "There is no controversy. They are having an internal political debate about who is responsible. Other than that, no one is talking about claiming Katchatheevu."

This development comes after the Bharatiya Janata Patry (BJP) alleged that the Congress government led by Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi gave up on the island under pressure from the South Asian island country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Congress and DMK, saying, "Weakening India's unity, integrity and interests has been the Congress' way of working for 75 years and counting."

Further highlighting the DMK, the Prime Minister said the Stalin-led party failed to safeguard the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu.

"The Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their own sons and daughters rise. They don't care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular," PM Modi added.

Katchatheevu is an island ceded to Sri Lanka by the then-Congress government in 1974, where prime minister Indira Gandhi accepted Katchatheevu as a Sri Lankan area under the 'Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement' with her counterpart Srimavo Bandaranaike.