Steps are on to retrieve Kachchatheevu: Congress MP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 March 2008, 11:12 GMT]
A Congress leader in Tamil Nadu and Indian Upper House (Rajya Sabha) Member of Parliament, Sudarsana Natchiappan, has said that the Indian Government was taking steps to take back Kadchatheevu according to a report by Dinamani newspaper in Tamil Nadu Sunday. Mr. Natchiappan was participating in the 66th state executive committee meeting of the Human Rights Division of the Congress Party at Raameasvaram on Saturday.

He reportedly said that fishermen from Tamil Nadu should be allowed to fish in the historical waters and that the Indian Government was taking necessary steps to provide protection to them and to retrieve the island of Kachchatheevu.

Natchiappan also told reporters that efforts were on to secure the release of Tamils who were languishing in jails in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Gulf countries.

He sought to explain away the training imparted to Sri Lankan military, that has caused widespread furore in Tamil Nadu, saying that since India is the largest country in the region it provides military training to its neighbours.