Amid recent disclosures unveiled through RTI, it has been revealed that India did not make sufficient efforts to maintain control over Katchatheevu. In response, the country’s external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, has announced that the government will engage in negotiations with Sri Lanka to secure fishing rights near the island. Jaishankar expressed the need to address the issue as Indian fishermen continue to be arrested, and their vessels seized, in the surrounding waters. He also attributed the root causes to the indifference of the central government and the connivance of Congress and DMK regimes. Jaishankar further stressed the public’s right to be informed about the process behind the transfer of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. In the past 20 years alone, more than 6,000 Indian fishermen have been detained and over 1,000 fishing vessels seized by Sri Lanka. This issue has been consistently raised in Parliament, including by Tamil Nadu’s chief ministers. Jaishankar highlighted the historic dismissive attitude of the Congress party towards Katchatheevu, alluding to remarks made by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He concluded that the present government is committed to resolving this longstanding dispute.