Koodankulam issue: Delegation to meet PM on Friday

Carrying different views on the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, a delegation of Tamil Nadu Government and activists opposed to the plant will discuss the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Friday.

The delegation would submit separate memoranda to Singh, indicating the differences between the state government and the anti-nuclear activists spearheading the stir calling for the scrapping of the Indo-Russian project.

"The state government feels that the project be suspended till the fears of the people are allayed while we want the project to be scraped," Convener of People's Movement Against Atomic Power S P Udayakumar said.

Udaykumar, one of the key leaders of the popular agitation against the project, set to be commissioned in December, said, "The government side will be led by Finance Minister Panneerselvam and it is not an all-party delegation."

He said protesters wanted inclusion of representatives from political parties which supported the agitation that saw thousands of locals rallying behind 127 persons of Idinthakarai village in their 12-d ay fast last month against the project.

"We know where the Prime Minister stands. Yet we will meet him on Friday, submit our memorandum and see what happens. Of course, we do hope to achieve a breakthrough in  this," Udaykumar, who is part of the delegation, said.

Asked about their threat to revive the stir and make it state-wide from October 9 if work on the commissioning of the plant was not suspended, he said, "Whatever may be the outcome of the meeting, we have to tell our people that. So we will surely meet them on the planned day (October 9)."

On September 22, the state Cabinet had adopted a resolution requesting the Centre to halt work on the 2x1000 MWe atomic power plant till safety concerns of the people were addressed.

The fast by 127 persons was withdrawn after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa promised to adopt a resolution in the Cabinet and arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister. She had written to the Prime Minister urging him to halt the project till safety concerns were addressed.

Singh had also deputed his ministry colleague V Narayanasamy to the protest site to have a dialogue with the protestors.

The Prime Minister had recently said the Centre would sit with all enlightened leadership of Tamil Nadu and find a "practical solution" to the controversy over the project, but maintained that atomic energy is the energy of the future and its importance cannot be undermined.