Congress Working Committee member A.K. Antony has called for an end to the debate on the Athirappilly hydel project in view of the environmental consequences for the State.
Addressing a function organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and the Bodheswaran Foundation here on Wednesday for the release of a book titled Indira Gandhi: A life in Nature authored by Jairam Ramesh, he said Kerala today could not afford to have new hydel projects like Athirappilly.
Five hours
Reiterating his party’s position on the issue, CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran said the LDF committee had discussed the Athirappilly project for over five hours before deciding not to include it in the manifesto.
The CPI and CPI(M) had also discussed the issue in detail.
Mr. Antony released the book by handing over a copy to writer and environmental activist Sugathakumari.
In his address, Jairam Ramesh said no other Prime Minister came close to Indira Gandhi in caring for the environment. She educated the political class and the bureaucracy and sensitised them to the need for environmental protection. Notwithstanding her image as a tough political leader, the real Indira Gandhi was a naturalist and conservationist, he said. Recalling her intervention to put the brakes on the Silent Valley project in Kerala, Mr. Ramesh said she had remained mindful of the need to develop alternative power sources.
He revealed that the issue of cow slaughter had emerged as a crisis for Indira Gandhi way back in 1966 when a crowd of sadhus attacked Parliament, leading to the resignation of the then Union Home Minister following deaths in police firing. Ms. Gandhi had set up a committee with RSS leader M.S. Golwalker and two Sankaracharyas as members to look into the issue of a national ban on cow slaughter. The committee never submitted its report and it was disbanded by Morarji Desai 12 years later, he said.
The book focusses on Indira Gandhi’s relatively little known passion for nature and concern for the environment and her tireless efforts to forge a conservation policy.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, MLAs V.T. Balaram and M.K. Muneer, KPCC president M.M. Hassan, Gandhian Gopinathan Nair, and Administrative Reforms Committee member C.P. Nair were also present.
