Thiruvananthapuram
The Congress party in Kerala has urged the Pinarayi Vijayan government to convene an all-party meet to discuss the concerns raised after the Chief Minister’s reported statement that the Mullaperiyar dam is safe.
In a letter to the chief minister, state Congress president V.M. Sudheeran said there has been a lot of confusion over Vijayan’s statement which he made in Delhi in May.
“Even though you have clarified on it, doubts still linger… So in order to reinforce the various unanimous resolutions that our assembly has passed on our concerns about the safety of the dam, we request you to immediately call an all-party meeting to reiterate the state’s consistent stand,” Sudheeran stated in the letter.
This demand comes at a time when the leaders of the Kerala opposition, led by former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala met Vijayan last week and conveyed their concerns.
At a meeting with reporters in Delhi last month, the Chief Minister had reportedly claimed that the safety of the dam was not an issue. However, following an outcry from the Congress, Vijayan later modified his statement.
Over the years, unanimous resolutions were passed in the Kerala assembly that the dam is a serious threat to the safety of the people.