<div>A German national was deported from India Tuesday on grounds of raising funds for protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, prompting an anti-nuclear activist to say the move was anti-tourist.<br /><br /><div>A police officer told IANS in Chennai that Sonnteg Reiner Hermann's visa was cancelled and he was put on a flight to Germany Tuesday morning and deported. He was brought to Chennai Monday night.<br /><br /></div><div>In New Delhi, Acting German Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodtsaid his government was not in touch with the Indian authorities on the matter.<br /><br /></div><div>"We learned about the incident this morning and through our channels we were informed that by now he has left the country," Meier-Klodt told reporters.<br /><br /></div><div>Activist R.S. Lal Mohan termed the development “unfortunate”.<br /><br /></div><div>“It is an unfortunate news. He is a genuine tourist and has been visiting various countries. It is a bad development for the country's tourism,” Lal Mohan said in Chennai.<br /><br /></div><div>In a joint operation by central intelligence agencies and Tamil Nadu police, Hermann who was staying at Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu on a tourist visa was Monday questioned about his involvement in raising funds for anti-KNPP protests. Nagercoil is 645 km from here.<br /><br /></div><div>According to police, based on the information from central intelligence agencies, Hermann's room was checked and he was questioned.<br /><br /></div><div>Police said Hermann was in touch with Lal.<br /><br /></div><div>Confirming that he knows the German, Lal said: “I don't know whether he was involved in raising funds for anti-KNPP protestors. But being anti-nuclear does not mean one is anti-national.”<br /><br /></div><div>The development comes days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an interview to the American Science magazine accused NGOs based in the US and Scandinavian countries of funding the protests.<br /><br /></div><div>The central government later said it has cancelled the licences of three NGOs without revealing their names.<br /><br /></div><div>India's nuclear power plant operator, NPCIL, is building two 1,000 MW atomic power reactors with Russian collaboration at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from Chennai.<br /><br /></div><div>However, villagers in Kudankulam, Idinthakarai and nearby areas, fearing their safety in case of any accident, are dead set against the project.<br /><br /></div><div>Their agitation, led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), has put a stop to the project work, delaying the commissioning of the first unit slated for December 2011.</div><div><br /></div></div>
<div>A German national was deported from India Tuesday on grounds of raising funds for protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, prompting an anti-nuclear activist to say the move was anti-tourist.<br /><br /><div>A police officer told IANS in Chennai that Sonnteg Reiner Hermann's visa was cancelled and he was put on a flight to Germany Tuesday morning and deported. He was brought to Chennai Monday night.<br /><br /></div><div>In New Delhi, Acting German Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodtsaid his government was not in touch with the Indian authorities on the matter.<br /><br /></div><div>"We learned about the incident this morning and through our channels we were informed that by now he has left the country," Meier-Klodt told reporters.<br /><br /></div><div>Activist R.S. Lal Mohan termed the development “unfortunate”.<br /><br /></div><div>“It is an unfortunate news. He is a genuine tourist and has been visiting various countries. It is a bad development for the country's tourism,” Lal Mohan said in Chennai.<br /><br /></div><div>In a joint operation by central intelligence agencies and Tamil Nadu police, Hermann who was staying at Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu on a tourist visa was Monday questioned about his involvement in raising funds for anti-KNPP protests. Nagercoil is 645 km from here.<br /><br /></div><div>According to police, based on the information from central intelligence agencies, Hermann's room was checked and he was questioned.<br /><br /></div><div>Police said Hermann was in touch with Lal.<br /><br /></div><div>Confirming that he knows the German, Lal said: “I don't know whether he was involved in raising funds for anti-KNPP protestors. But being anti-nuclear does not mean one is anti-national.”<br /><br /></div><div>The development comes days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an interview to the American Science magazine accused NGOs based in the US and Scandinavian countries of funding the protests.<br /><br /></div><div>The central government later said it has cancelled the licences of three NGOs without revealing their names.<br /><br /></div><div>India's nuclear power plant operator, NPCIL, is building two 1,000 MW atomic power reactors with Russian collaboration at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from Chennai.<br /><br /></div><div>However, villagers in Kudankulam, Idinthakarai and nearby areas, fearing their safety in case of any accident, are dead set against the project.<br /><br /></div><div>Their agitation, led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), has put a stop to the project work, delaying the commissioning of the first unit slated for December 2011.</div><div><br /></div></div>