– 04th Apr 2013 – Chennai: “Tamil Eelam is not far away”, declared BJP senior Yashwant Sinha at a well-attended party meeting held at a marriage hall in the city on Wednesday. Admitting that the BJP during its NDA rule had advocated political settlement for the Tamils within a united Lanka, the former foreign minister insisted that the position now was different. deccanchronicle.com: Arguing that Eelam is a distinct possibility, Sinha said, “Bangladesh would not have been an independent country now; north and south Sudan would not have been independent countries today”. He also picked up another prospective poll issue by demanding that the Centre reopen the agreement by which India had ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka and “redraw the fishing lines” to ensure the fishing rights of Indian fishermen and stop their getting killed at the hands of the Lankan Navy. “If Katchatheevu is brought back to our side, our fishermen will not be affected. It will then be Indian waters controlled by us”. After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rebuffed Yashwant Sinha’s demand for his appearance before JPC on 2G, the BJP leader on Wednesday said failure to do so would send a “loud and clear” signal that he has something to hide. “If the PM says his conscience is clear, he should offer to appear before JPC,” Sinha said. . Sinha asserted that JPC is the only committee before which a minister or the PM can appear. He accused JPC Chairman P.C. Chako of behaving in a “partisan manner”. and trying to “scuttle” former telecom minister A Raja’s appearance before it. “No truth will come out if the Prime Minister and Finance Minister do not appear before the JPC,” insisted Sinha, himself a JPC member.