Tamil Nadu heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday when the agitators decided to call off the 11-day fast demanding the scrapping of the Koodankulam nuclear power project. Sensing the urgency of the matter, Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa agreed to a Cabinet resolution to request the Centre to halt the project. The breakthrough came after Union minister V Narayanasamy called on Jayalalithaa to brief her on his visit to the protest site after being rushed in as the PM?s emissary, in the wake of a strongly-worded letter by her demanding the halting of project work. On his part, Narayanasamy agreed to carry Jayalalithaa?s ?certain message? to Manmohan Singh, who will take a final call.
Jayalalithaa, who heads an energy-crunch state, was baffled when sudden protests against the nuclear power plant, which is nearing completion under Indo-Russian collaboration, erupted some two weeks ago. The state government, which was watching the unfolding events like mass hunger strikes since September 11, sent a ministerial team to the spot after five days to gauge the mood and to talk with the activists. Surprising many, at the end of the exercise, Jayalalithaa issued a statement favouring the plant.
While favouring the project, Jayalalithaa cited scientific reasons for her decision. She said following her government?s interaction with the plant officials and nuclear scientists, it was her duty to inform people about the safety measures put in place there. The very next day came the U-turn, probably because of the mounting public opinion against the plant. Naysayers pointed out that she cannot afford to draw flak at the time local body polls are around the corner.
Jayalalithaa shot off a letter urging the PM not to go ahead with the project until an ?amicable solution? is found. She not only criticised the central government?s silence over the ongoing agitation by the people and farmers alike, but also put the ball into the central government?s court, to resolve the issue. She said that until the debate gets resolved, the Centre should stop all ongoing work on this project immediately.
Interestingly, the first phase of the project is scheduled to go onstream by December this year. Narayanasamy visited the place on Tuesday and held discussions with the People?s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), the body that spearheads the no-nuke plant movement. But his visit did not go down well with the agitators. They refused to hold talks with him, saying the intimation came at the eleventh hour and the message was conveyed through a junior village official. After his unsuccessful visit to the site, protesters, however, agreed to hold talks with the CM along with Narayanasamy.
SP Udhaya Kumar, convener of PMANE, said though the protesters promised to withdraw their indefinite fast, they will ?continue to keep up the pressure on the government? to scrap the project. The committee will continue with the struggle in consultation with the AIADMK government, saying that they do not have any problem with the state government, pointing fingers at the Centre for its alleged silence on the issue.