Jayalalithaa giving 'silent support' to Kudankulam stir: Karunanidhi

Chennai: Hitting out at the Jayalalithaa government over the Kudankulam nuclear power plant issue, DMK chief M Karunanidhi today accused it of extending “silent support” to the protests against the Indo-Russian project. [caption id=“attachment_229706” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Karunanidhi said the government had failed to allay fears by allowing the protests to continue. PTI”]  [/caption] “While there is a possibility of generating 1,000 mw from the plant, some are protesting against it saying they don’t want it. To the question if the government is supporting it or criticising it, (one can say) it is extending silent support,” he said. In his address at a function here to distribute aid on the eve of his son M K Stalin’s birthday tomorrow, Karunanidhi said the government was also silent on questions whether it was behind the protests. He said the world was watching (the developments) and those “who are aware of the truth” were unable to express it. “Had the state government extended its help to the plant and its scientists in the eight months (of the protest) for power generation, this darkness (power cut) would not have been experienced,” he said. By allowing a protest, which showed no signs of ending, the state government had failed in its duty to allay fears of the people by spreading awareness, he alleged. The DMK patriarch, whose previous government had placed its bet on the completion of the Indo-Russian joint venture to address power shortage, said his government had taken efforts including purchasing power from other states and getting it from central grid while acknowledging the electricity shortage. On the concerns of the anti-nuke protesters over safety of the plant, he referred to the Kalpakkam Atomic Power station located near Chennai and said it was “doing well”. “While we have allowed a Kalpakkam (plant) near Chennai, its puzzling to see the protests against the one at Kudankulam. Why is the state government silent?” he asked. “While there are many theories behind the stalling of the project, including allegations of US hand (funding from US NGOs), it is only the public who voted (for AIADMK) who are suffering,” he said. PTI