‘Closed chapter’, Sri Lankan minister on Katchatheevu row

New Delhi, April 3

The controversy over PM Narendra Modi’s stand on the Katchatheevu island issue has elicited a response from Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry who said it was a “closed chapter”.

Sabry said the issue was discussed 50 years ago and there was no need to reopen it.

During the first two days after PM Modi’s post on X saw little blowback from the Lankan government circles, but has been heavily criticised by its media.

The sole statement from the government ironically came from a Tamil-origin minister Jeevan Thondaman who asserted that the island fell within Lankan jurisdiction. He also said the Indian government had not sent any official communication in this regard.

Both governments share a “healthy and organic” foreign policy, he added. Ironically, Thondaman comes from an illustrious political family which has represented the Tamils living in the highlands of central Sri Lanka since Independence.