Jaya demands Karunanidhi's resignation on dam issue

AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa today demanded resignation of Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi for "compromising" the state's interests on the Mullaperiyar dam issue by failing to prevent Centre from allowing Kerala to undertake preliminary survey for constructing a new dam across the river.
    
"People in five districts bordering Kerala will be affected if a new dam is constructed across Mullaperiyar river even as Kerala Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran has said that the works regarding the survey had started in 2007.
    
Karunanidhi had failed to prevent the Centre from giving its nod for the survey," she said in a statement here.
    
The state's move to approach Supreme Court on the issue was also a "delayed step", she said, adding that Kerala had completed a major portion of the survey and Tamil Nadu was aware of it.
    
"Karunanidhi should either resign or withdraw his support to (Congress-led) UPA since he failed to use his influence with the Centre to Tamil Nadu's advantage," she said.

While the state moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the preliminary survey last week, Karunanidhi had written to prime minister Manmohan Singh requesting for withdrawal of Centre's nod to Kerala for conducting the survey.

Kerala had opposed Tamil Nadu's stand on the issue as 'misleading and politically motivated', saying it had no intentions of denying water to its neighbour.