Reacting strongly to reports that the Sri Lankan Government was planning to reconstruct the famous St Anthony’s Church located on the disputed Katchatheevu Island, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking urgent intervention to stop the construction activities.

In the letter to Modi, Jayalalithaa has also stated that, when the issue came up earlier, the Indian fishermen had objected to it because the church stood for the joint heritage of fishermen from both India and Sri Lanka. Citing the visit of large number of fishermen from Tamil Nadu to the church every year, Jaya had also requested the PM to negotiate with the Sri Lankan Government, so that fishermen from Tamil Nadu too can participate in the renovation works.

Claiming that she had previously written many times to the Central Government seeking the retrieval of Katchatheevu, which was ceded to the Sri Lankan Government as the per the agreements in 1974 and 1976, Jayalalithaa had also claimed that the Katchatheevu should be retrieved as it rightfully belonged to Tamil Nadu.

She had also mentioned that a Writ Petition (W.P. (Civil) No.561/2008) in this regard was filed in the Supreme Court of India in 2008, citing the Supreme Court judgment in the Berubari case of 1960. The apex court had observed that a part of any territory owned by India can be ceded to another country only through a Constitutional Amendment.

“However, Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka without a Constitutional amendment and hence the ceding is unlawful and not valid. The abrogation of the 1974 and 1976 agreements and retrieval of Katchatheevu will permanently restore the traditional fishing rights of the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and resolve a long pending issue,” she said.

She had also requested that the Central Government consult with the fishermen of Tamil Nadu regarding the issue, and take necessary steps.