The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Vaiko for constitutional amendment

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Friday, Nov 24, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Vaiko for constitutional amendment

Staff Reporter

Terms Achuthanandan's actions on the issue "condemnable"

Vaiko

Coimbatore: A constitutional amendment to nationalise inter-State rivers and vesting the Centre with powers to ensure implementation of tribunal awards are the only ways to resolve issues such as raising the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko said here on Thursday.

Talking to reporters, he criticised the State Government for "failing" to implement the Supreme Court order to increase the storage level to 142 ft and the Centre for having failed to make Kerala implement the apex court ruling. "Under such circumstances national integration and unity are at stake." He admitted that the MDMK had always campaigned for States' autonomy. But a constitutional amendment to empower the Centre should be seen only on the lines of the powers vested with the Union Government on issues relating to currency, external affairs, defence and national security.

Bad blood

While Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was at liberty to protect his State's interests, his actions denying Tamil Nadu its rights was "condemnable," Mr. Vaiko said. "The utterances of the Kerala Chief Minister, backed by political parties there and mischievous reports in a section of the Press in Kerala questioning the safety of the dam, have created a lot of bad blood. The dam belongs to Tamil Nadu and its maintenance rests with us as per the agreement entered into for 999 years."

When Kerala enacted a legislation "usurping" Tamil Nadu's rights over the dam, the previous AIADMK government moved the Supreme Court to establish its rights and the same was upheld by the apex court. Against this background, the Kerala Chief Minister led a delegation to the Prime Minister furnishing "wrong, misleading details which were illegal, unjustifiable and against the agreement."

Mr. Vaiko said Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi should have acted fast and briefed the Prime Minister.

Kerala's suggestion for a new dam should not be even considered. The attempts by the Kerala Chief Minister to bring in naval experts to check the dam safety was a desperate measure to get some document to support its false campaign.

He described the DMK protests, where its activists blocked inter-State roads to Kerala, as an attempt at deceiving people.

Statue row

On the controversy over the demand for installation of the statue of former Union Minister Murasoli Maran in the Parliament complex, Mr. Vaiko said: "He was my guru in parliamentary politics but what is the criterion for demanding a statue in Parliament? When statues of political leaders who were not parliamentarians can be installed, EVR Periyar deserves a statue and there are stalwarts of Dravidian movements who deserve a statue first." On the continuance of MDMK in the United Progressive Alliance, Mr. Vaiko said: "We stayed away from steering and co-ordination committee meetings to avoid embarrassment to the Central Government because the DMK had threatened to walk out. The MDMK continues to get invitations for weekly meetings of the UPA allies."

Demanding despatch of food materials and medicines to the Lankan Tamils, Mr. Vaiko said his party would stage a fast in New Delhi on November 27 to protest on the eve of the visit of the Sri Lankan President.

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