Now Vijayakant joins demand for Katchtheevu review

DMDK founder and Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly A. Vijayakant has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reopen and review the 1974 agreement with which India transferred Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.

"As circumstances change and unforeseen hardship is caused, it is quite natural for any treaty to be reviewed and altered if necessary," Vijayakant said in a letter to the prime minister, a copy of which was released to the media here Tuesday.

This was necessary to save Indian fishermen from "suffering" at the hands of the Sri Lankan forces, he added.

According to him, it is internationally accepted that an agreement could be reviewed if it causes irreparable damage to the parties.

Katchatheevu island is located in the narrow sea separating the two countries. The waters around the island are said to be rich in marine life, leading to frequent clashes between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu are demanding the retrieval of Katchatheevu following frequent attacks on the Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.