'Severe distortion of history': Congress demands apology from 'one-third PM' on Katchatheevu issue

The Congress has asked PM Narendra Modi whether he and other BJP leaders would apologise for raising the Katchatheevu issue during the Lok Sabha polls campaign.

Taking to X on Monday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at the party, saying the issue was 'manufactured' by the 'one-third prime minister' during the election campaign and taken up by his colleagues to gather support for the BJP in Tamil Nadu.

Ramesh said raking up the issue was 'highly irresponsible' as it threatened to derail India's relationship with Sri Lanka and asked if PM Modi and his colleagues would apologise for having created a 'huge scare' with a neighboring country, especially when he boasts of a Neighbourhood First policy.

In the run-up to the polls in Tamil Nadu, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had claimed that former prime ministers of the Congress displayed indifference to the Katchatheevu island and gave away Indian fishermen's rights despite legal views to the contrary.

Jaishankar made the remarks at a press conference after Modi cited a media report to assert new facts revealed that the Congress "callously" gave away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.

In a post on X, Ramesh noted Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present during Sunday's swearing-in ceremony.

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