Jayalalithaa meets anti-Kudankulam group, makes no promises

Chennai: A day after the expert panel submitted its report, leaders of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) which is spearheading the agitation against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), today met the Tamil Nadu chief minister at the secretariat and presented their arguments before her. The four member PMANE delegation was led by its coordinator SP Udayakumar. [caption id=“attachment_229432” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Jayalalithaa met with the protestors and listened to their grievances . AFP”]  [/caption] Speaking to the media after the 15-minute meeting, Udayakumar, said Jayalalithaa intently listened to all their points. To a question from mediapersons, he said she didn’t promise them anything. He said the delegation told her that the expert panel didn’t take cognizance of the safety concerns of the local villagers and didn’t even care to speak to them. Their visit and inspection to the plant hardly lasted two hours. PMANE’s deposition before the chief minister appeared like a tirade against the central government. The centre was treating them like foreign funded agents and were attributing motives behind their agitation. “We have no links with foreign funded NGOs and we are not receiving money from anybody,” Udayakumar said. He also said that the authorities at the Kudankulam power plant were going ahead with construction and maintenance work although the state government was yet to take a decision on its future. The delegation praised Jayalalitha for her steps to address the power situation in the state and said the villagers near the plant were doing everything possible to conserve electricity to support her steps.