Chennai:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai this morning over the Mullaperiyar Dam issue. The DMK chief was accompanied by his daughter M Kanimozhi, who is an accused in the 2G scam and currently out on bail, when he went to meet the Prime Minister at Raj Bhavan.
Karunanidhi submitted a memorandum to Dr Singh, accusing Kerala of having created a situation where "people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been instigated to fight against each other like people of two different countries."
Alleging that the continued campaign by Kerala had resulted in many 'undesirable incidents' creating animosity between the people of the two states, the memorandum said it had forced Tamils living in Kerala to leave that state.
The memorandum also referred to "sentimental outburst" of the affected people of southern districts of Tamil Nadu, whose irrigation needs are met by the Mullaperiyar Dam.
"This situation, unless contained and changed immediately, will lead to permanent strain and cleavage between the people of the two states," the memorandum by DMK, a key UPA ally said.
It also said the dam issue was before the Supreme Court and any effort by Kerala government to reduce the water level and attempt to construct a new dam "has to be viewed as an attempt to subvert the judicial process and deny justice to the people of Tamil Nadu."
The memorandum said that even after works of strengthening the dam by Tamil Nadu government, Kerala continued to maintain the water level at 136 feet and seeking to reduce it to 120 feet, instead of abiding by the Supreme Court order.
"If government of Kerala is persistent on its stand, at least five southern districts of Tamil Nadu will become deserts without water for irrigation," it said.
The PM is on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu. He also met chief minister J Jayalalithaa yesterday. The chief minister had asked him to advise Kerala not to build a new dam across Mullaperiyar and sought a financial package for the state.
In her 40-minute meeting with Dr Singh at Raj Bhavan soon after his arrival in Chennai yesterday, Ms Jayalalithaa submitted a memorandum making a host of demands but skipped any reference to the Kudankulam nuclear power project standoff.
(
With PTI Inputs)