While stressing that he was “not satisfied” with the action taken by the Tamil Nadu government on the Mullaperiyar dam issue, DMK president M. Karunanidhi said he was “dissatisfied” with the Centre for not taking any steps to find a solution.
Talking to reporters after the executive committee meeting of the party at Anna Arivalayam, Mr. Karunanidhi said he was of the opinion that an all-party meeting would strongly convey the message that Tamils were united at least on this issue. “During the DMK regime we held all-party meeting on the issue,” he said.
The executive meeting adopted a resolution to organise fasts across the State on December 12 and human chains on December 15 in Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts, which are benefited by the dam.
To a question, Mr. Karunanidhi expressed the hope that the resolution would move the Centre which had been maintaining silence on the issue.
Asked whether he was upset with the lethargic attitude of the Centre, which had not heeded his pleas, he said, “We should not forget the fact that any aggressive action could lead to unwanted consequences.”
“I have already written to the empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court to deal with the issue. The DMK MPs had met him and drawn his attention to the problem,” he said responding to a question if he would write to Prime Minister in connection with the Mullaperiyar dam issue.
Asked whether he was for convening the Assembly session to discuss the Mullaperiyar issue, since Kerala had already convened such a session, Mr. Karunanidhi said, “We have to closely watch the actions of Kerala.”
“The DMK has been stressing the same point. We have again reiterated it in the resolution,” he further said.
He declined to comment on PMK leader S. Ramadoss' allegation that the DMK government adopted a lackadaisical approach even though the Supreme Court gave a ruling for increasing the water level from 136 feet to 142 feet. “Everyone knows that the Supreme Court has appointed an empowered committee. We cannot suppress this fact... This will only create an impression that the Tamils are not united. Indulging in diatribes will serve no purpose, but affect the livelihood of farmers. There is no need to respond to such criticism,” he added.
Mr. Karunanidhi clarified that Union Minister M.K. Alagiri could not attend Friday's meeting because he had to be in Parliament to answer some important questions.
