Emergency responsible for decision to give up the rights of Indian fishermen: EAM Jaishankar
New Delhi, June 27 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said the Emergency imposed by then PM Indira Gandhi is responsible for the persistent issue of Indian fishermen being arrested by Sri Lanka.
Speaking at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, the EAM said that during the time an agreement was reached between India and Sri Lanka in which the rights of Indian fishermen to fish in some areas of the waters of Sri Lanka was given up.
He said: 'During the Emergency, sometimes major decisions were taken, without debate.
'Today a major issue is being talked about -- that our fishermen are arrested in Sri Lanka. Do you know the reason why?
'The reason is because during the Emergency an agreement was reached with Sri Lanka in which the fishermen's rights to fish in some areas of the waters of Sri Lanka, that right we gave up.
'If there had been no Emergency, and if there had been a parliament, a truly genuine parliament, then the issue would have been debated. I do not know if the parliament at the time would have agreed to such a decision or not,' he added.
He said the consequences of this decision are still visible in Tamil Nadu.
The EAM was referring to the 1974 and 1976 agreements reached between India and Sri Lanka over the Katchatheevu island and rights over their respective Exclusive Economic Zone areas.
Katchatheevu, an uninhabited island, was ceded to Sri Lanka under a maritime agreement in 1974. Another agreement was signed in 1976 -- when the Emergency was in progress -- that restricted the fishermen of both countries from fishing in each other's exclusive economic zones.
In other remarks, the EAM urged people to remain vigilant against history repeating itself, and said that India needs an empowered public to avoid future such autocratic decisions.
EAM said the image of India as the oldest and largest democracy in the world took a beating when the Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975.
He also recalled his own experiences of police raids in the hostels of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
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