Chennai: Equating Kerala's demand for a new dam at Mullaperiyar with China's attempts to build one on the Brahmaputra within its territory, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha on Sunday said if the Indian government could oppose the Chinese project, then Tamil Nadu too had the right to object to Kerala's project.
Noting that India is objecting to China building a dam on the Brahmaputra on the plea that it would affect the ecology of several states here, she said: "When one nation can object to the actions of another in the matter of river water sharing, does not Tamil Nadu have valid grounds to push its case through vis-vis a neighbouring state?"
"Are not both Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of the Indian Union? Do the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of State for Forests and Environment have different yardsticks while dealing with identical issues concerning the Indian nation and Tamil Nadu state?" she asked, according to a statement released here.
Jayalalitha claimed that the construction of a new dam across the Mullaiperiyar in Kerala would practically result in cutting off the main source of water for five districts of Tamil Nadu.
She said Kerala is going ahead with surveying lands for construction of a new dam, which would be against the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu.
"90 per cent of this survey work is complete. The balance will be completed in hardly two months. The minister concerned in Kerala has also said on record that the construction of the new dam will be completed in less than a year after the sanction is given," Jayalalitha said.
She demanded the DMK should pull out of the central government immediately on the issue of the new dam in Kerala.
IANS
First Published: Sunday, October 18, 2009, 18:10