Thaindian News

Chennai, Dec 14 (IANS) A special session of the Tamil Nadu assembly will be held Thursday to pass a resolution that the state will not give up its rights over the Mullaperiyar Dam.

Reversing her earlier decision, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday said that a special session of the assembly will be convened Dec 15 to pass a resolution that the state will not give up its rights over Mullaperiyar Dam because of the “imaginary threat to its safety” propagated by Kerala.

The special session has been convened to express the solidarity of the people of Tamil Nadu and all the political parties, she said.

As the resolution will be unanimous, it would send a clear signal that the state is united on this issue.

Meanwhile, the DMK held a human chain protest in Theni, Madurai, Sivaganga, Dindugal, Ramanathapuram districts over the issue.

“The Mullaperiyar Dam issue should not be politicised. The party will participate in the special session of the assembly. Political parties in Kerala are politicising the dam issue having in their view a bye-election there,” DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin said at Theni.

On the other hand, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly A. Vijayakant of the DMDK demanded the resignation of all the 39 Lok Sabha members from the state over the dam issue.

Addressing a demonstration in Theni, Vijayakant also attacked the DMK, saying the party is trying to hoodwink the public with protests though it didn’t do anything while in power.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads over the dam, built under an 1886 accord between the then Maharaja of Travancore and the erstwhile British Raj.

While it is located in Kerala, the control of the dam is with Tamil Nadu and its waters serve the state.

Tamil Nadu wants the dam’s storage capacity to be increased from the current 136 feet (41.5 metres) to 142 feet (43 metres) as per a Supreme Court order, while Kerala wants a new dam as the control will be with it.