MADURAI: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko has urged the Centre to declare the law enacted by the Kerala Government as illegal. It ran counter to the Supreme Court verdict in the Mullaperiyar dam issue, he said.

Mr. Vaiko was addressing party cadres after leading a rally for "protection of the Mullaperiyar dam rights" here on Tuesday.

The rally and the meeting were apolitical, as it concerned the livelihood of thousands of Tamils. At least two lakh hectares of crop would go waste, causing a loss of Rs. 400 crore every year, if the Mullaperiyar water was denied to farmers, he said.

While the State Government should rise above party lines and safeguard the interests of farmers of the southern districts, the Centre was duty-bound to create an environment to implement the apex court order. "Kerala is setting a bad and dangerous precedent. The demand for taking over the dam is unjustified and should be rejected," he said.

Some vested interests in Kerala were trying to propagate baseless information about the dam's safety.

"It is a matter of right that we are asking for water, which was upheld both by the Central Water Commission and the Supreme Court. K.M. Abbas, president, Cumbum Valley Farmers' Association, spoke.

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