Government not sincere on its stand: VS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has said that the State Government is not sincere on its demand for a new dam at Mullapperiyar. Addressing a news conference here on Thursday, Achuthanandan said that the government’s act would help only to weaken the state’s case in the Supreme Court. He pointed out that it was the Central Water Commission, which emphasised the need for a new dam during the tenure of M G Ramachandran and P K Vasudevan Nair as Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively. Both the governments had accepted in principle the need for the new dam. He said that the discussions at the ‘Surkashaayanam’ seminar, organised under the aegis of the Disaster Management Department, were reportedly emphasising the need for repair works of the old dam. He said that Tamil Nandu Chief Minister Jayalaithaa had alleged that many of the Kerala politicians and bureaucrats had properties at Kambam and Theni districts of Tamil Nadu. It was after this revelation that a let up in the demand for new dam was noticed. He asked the government to conduct an inquiry into Jayalalithaa’s allegations. The Opposition Leader said that Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy were trying to befool the people by saying that the Supreme Court observations on the interlinking of rivers would not be detrimental to the interest of the state.‘Antony has no moral right to speak about idealism’Achuthanandan said that A K Antony and Oommen Chandy should clarify their stand on the unprecedented neglect of the state in the rail budget. Referring to  Antony’s remarks about him, Achuthanandan said that Antony had no moral right to speak about idealism. “He is a Minister in the Union Cabinet, which has no majority in the House. When the Left parties withdrew support to the first UPA Government, it was Mukesh Ambani’s men who came to Delhi to buy out 20 MPs to sustain the government. Antony had no problem in continuing in the Ministry. Now he has no right to speak about idealism,”  he said.