Chennai, June 9 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu assembly Thursday unanimously passed a resolution seeking to implead the state revenue department as a party to the Katchathivu retrieval case filed by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court in 2008.

 
 Moving the resolution, Jayalalithaa said that Katchathivu island, a lifeline for the fishermen living on the Tamil Nadu coast, has been ceded to Sri Lanka by India by agreements made in 1974 and 1976.
 
 She said as the AIADMK general secretary, she had filed a case in the Supreme Court and the resolution is now being moved in order to strengthen that case.
 
 According to the resolution, any alienation of land by India has to be approved by both houses of parliament and an amendment of the constitution as per a Supreme Court judgment in 1960.
 
 The resolution states that Katchathivu island was handed over without the approval of both houses of parliament and contrary to the Supreme Court judgment.
 
 All the parties supported the resolution, barring the DMK members who walked out of the house protesting the seating arrangement, and Congress members who remained silent.
 
 In her reply to the debate, Jayalalithaa flayed DMK president M. Karunanidhi for not opposing the ceding of the Katchathivu to Sri Lanka as the then chief minister, which led to the frequent killing of Indian fishermen by the island nation's navy.
 
 Jayalalithaa said she had urged the central government to secure "lease in perpetuity" status so that Indian fishermen could go the island while fishing.
 
 Katchathivu island is located in the narrow sea dividing the two countries. The sea is rich in marine life which has often led to clashes between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen.
 
 Sri Lankan security forces have been accused of killing fishermen from Tamil Nadu approaching Katchathivu, although the 1974 accord gives them the right to dry their nets on the island.