New Delhi, April 4 -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who thought fit to studiously ignore the appeal made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin to "take back" Katchatheevu Island from Sri Lanka, shifts his stance two years later as parliamentary elections draw closer, with his Bharatiya Janata Party's chance of grabbing at least a couple of seats in Tamil Nadu at a low ebb.

In June 2022, when Stalin made the demand that India should acquire Katchatheevu located in the Palk Strait, Modi, who spoke at the same platform in Chennai, refrained from referring to Katchatheevu or its ownership, but urged the people of India to assist the people of Sri Lanka who are suffering due to an unprecedented food and energy crisis.

India had so...