Tamil Nadu Governor Ravi gets legal notice over his comments on Kudankulam protest

S P Udayakumar said that there was no basis whatsoever for the Governor's assertion that the said protest was funded by foreign countries

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has been served a legal notice by activist S P Udayakumar for his statement that the protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district was “funded by foreign countries.” The notice, sent through advocate M Radhakrishnan, asked the Governor to make appropriate amends to the “false statement.”

During an interaction with civil service aspirants on April 6, the Governor said protests in Kudankulam and Thoothukudi against the nuclear power project and Sterlite Copper were funded by foreign countries. The statements met with severe condemnation with people saying the protests were spontaneous.

Also Read — Anti-Sterlite protests funded by foreign hands: TN Governor

“The money trail go to those entities in the foreign country-Europe, US, different countries from where the money is being sent for these activities, sometimes in the name of human rights, climate or green environment different names,” the Governor had said.

In the notice, Udayakumar, who spearheaded the 2011-2012 protests against Kudankulam power project, said the Governor has insulted thousands of men and women who had participated in the protest in public interest.

“There is no basis whatsoever for your assertion that the said Protest was funded by foreign countries. My client states that you have made this false statement against my client with an Intention to harm his reputation. The said statement of yours amounts to an imputation which directly, in the estimation of the members of the public, lowers the moral character of my client and also lowers the credit of my client,” the notice said.

The legal notice said the Governor’s utterance that the protest was funded by foreign countries is an utter falsehood and that his imputation may fall within the realm of defamation.

“My client hopes that you, as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, will immediately make appropriate amends to the said false statement made against my client who was the Co-ordinator of the protest against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu and all those protestors against KNPP, and will not drive my client to have recourse to law,” the notice added.