Uncertainty prevails over Mullaperiyar dam issue


Thursday, December 29, 2011: As Kerala has slowed down in its clamour on the Mullaperiyar dam issue in the backdrop of a violent backlash against Keralites in Tamil Nadu and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attempt to prevail upon Tamil Nadu for talks, confusion has gripped all around including political parties.
The apolitical Samara Samithi which had been spearheading the agitation for the past five years is also in a crisis with the ouster of Prof CP Roy from the chairmanship of Mullaperiyar Samara Samithi.
While the demand of Kerala for a new dam had been sidelined by the national political leadership as Tamil Nadu keeps opposing it tooth and nail and insists on a final court order on the issue, the political parties here are struggling for a face-saving formula.
The one-month lull in stirs on the Mullaperiyar issue by Kerala’s political parties has already resulted in mild tremors and aftershocks within the Kerala Congress (M), with Congress leaders privately criticising that the KC(M) had exceeded limits in the agitation at the very onset.
It is another matter that the Congress and even major Left political parties have been forced to up their ante after the blitzkrieg of Water Resources Minister PJ Joseph on the issue.

No comments: