The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, on Monday said he only kept in mind the interests of Tamil Nadu and Tamil people and his conduct was not influenced by who was in power.
When the Kerala Assembly, in March 2006, adopted a legislation that created a situation for non-implementation of the Supreme Court’s order on Mullaperiyar, he [Mr Karunanidhi] did not consider it a blow to the previous AIADMK government led by Ms. Jayalalithaa and issued a statement, welcoming the development. Instead, on assumption of office in May 2006, the DMK government was pursuing the case filed by the AIADMK regime against the legislation.
Mr Karunanidhi's response was in contrast with that of Ms Jayalalithaa, while reacting to the AIADMK leader’s statement in which she described as a slap in the Chief Minister’s face the Supreme Court‘s decision to post for hearing on October 20 the Tamil Nadu’s plea for a stay of the Centre’s permission granted to the Kerala government to conduct survey and investigation for a new Mullaperiyar dam.
The Chief Minister cited many instances wherein her government faced legal setbacks. He also recalled how her nomination papers were rejected during the 2001 Assembly elections.
As for Ms Jayalalithaa’s reference to Kerala Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran’s statement that the survey began in 2007, the Chief Minister said the Kerala government did not furnish information on the survey when it filed its counter in March 2007 and its five witnesses were cross-examined. Also, it did not provide to Tamil Nadu any information on the survey or what was sought by the Central government.
The area in which the Kerala government was said to have undertaken the survey fell within a wildlife sanctuary. For any survey to be taken up in such an area, the permission under the relevant law had to be obtained. The Supreme Court’s nod was also required. Did Ms Jayalalithaa mean to say that Kerala did not secure any such approvals ? If an argument was adduced that prior approvals had been secured, was Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh wrong as he had said the permission was given only on Ocotober 6? There was no information that the Kerala government got permission either in 2007 or prior to that, Mr Karunanidhi added.
