Panneerselvam accuses Stalin of “maintaining silence” over Mullaperiyar repair execution issue
The Hindu
AIADMK coordinator, O. Panenerselvam, on Monday complained that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was maintaining silence over the “obstructionist attitude” of the Kerala government on the execution of repairs for the Mullaperiyar dam.
In a statement, Mr. Panneerselvam said that even though the DMK and the Left were allies in Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring State’s Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, of the CPI (M) commended Mr. Stalin at a book launch event in Chennai, the Kerala government, instead of doing good for Tamil Nadu, was “creating obstacles continuously.” Mr. Stalin, who should have condemned Kerala for its attitude, was however “keeping mum” on the issue. The Left parties in the State were also “not opening their mouths.” If this trend continued, even for the carrying out of ordinary work, the State would have to plead with Kerala and wait for the latter’s approval.
Mr. Panneerselvam asked Mr. Stalin to take up the matter with his counterpart and ensure that no such hindrance was created to execute the work.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.