New Jaya note to PM on nuclear plant
Says PM’s letters yet to reach her; fast resumes
Top scientists and officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) went into a huddle on Tuesday, dismayed over Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha’s latest missive against the Centre on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) row.
Anti-nuclear protesters resuming their fast at Idinthakarai added to their worries.
What has raised concerns in the nuclear energy establishment is Jayalalitha hitting out at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) at what she termed a “strange new practice of letters from the prime minister being released to the media first even before they reaching my office in Chennai.”
“This is the third time I have assumed office as chief minister and there have been several instances in the past of exchanging letters with the PMO, but in the last ten days letters purportedly sent by the prime minister (on the Kudankulam issue) have just not reached me,” Jayalalitha fumed.
In a statement she said even the prime minister’s first letter, released to media on September 7 after the Tamil Nadu team called on Manmohan Singh in Delhi to discuss the KNPP issue, in the wake of post-Fukushima disaster fears had not reached her.
“Only on September 9 the state government asked for a fax copy of the prime minister’s letter which reached my office the next day,” Jayalalitha said. The second letter purportedly written to her by Singh and released to the media on September 12, “is yet to reach me till today (Tuesday).”
Jayalalitha said that under the circumstances, it was strange for V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the PMO, to accuse the state government of not furnishing its list of nominees yet to be included in the small group of experts, as suggested by the prime minister, who will interact with the Kudankulam area people to ally all their apprehensions about the nuclear project.
Such allegations by Narayanasamy only gave rise to doubts that the Centre sought to shift the blame to the state in this issue. The AIADMK supremo asserted that her government was firm in its stand that no further work at the KNPP should be allowed until all apprehensions of the Kudankulam area people were dispelled.
Jayalalitha said that the Centre would do well to stop this blame game and instead take immediate steps to resolve the nuclear plant issue.
Even as some of the NPCIL officials sounded worried about Jayalalitha reiterating her support to the anti-nuclear protesters, the struggle committee against the KNPP again revived its fast at Idinthakarai, 3 km north of the plant site, though it would be a “dawn-to-dusk relay fast” on a daily basis.
