The ruling Congress-led UDF and the opposition parties in Kerala today condemned the statement of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram that Kerala was voicing "unnecessary fear" over Mullaperiyar.
The ruling Congress-led UDF and the opposition parties in Kerala today condemned the statement of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram that Kerala was voicing "unnecessary fear" over the Mullaperiyar dam issue with an eye on the ensuing by-poll in an assembly segment in the state.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he would complain to the Congress high command about the statement while some of the leaders from both the UDF and the opposition LDF demanded that Chidambaram be dropped from the cabinet.
"The first thing we are going to do is to complain to the high command. The Government and the party will convey our protest at Chidambaram's statement," Chandy told reporters at Kottayam.
Terming the Kerala government's apprehension over safety of the Mullaperiyar dam as "unnecessary", Chidambaram had said it was borne out of "bypoll fear".
"It is an unnecessary fear. It is not even a temporary or a permanent fear. It is only a bypoll fear," he said, apparently referring to the upcoming assembly bypoll to Piravom constituency in Kerala.
The problem would not have arisen if the Election Commission had conducted the bypoll to that seat, he said, suggesting that the issue had been raked up for political reasons.
Cutting across political lines, leaders slammed Chidambaram for taking a controversial and "one-sided" view on the vexed issue, over which Kerala and Tamil Nadu are locked in a long-drawn dispute.
They also said the statment had come at a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured an all-party delegation from Kerala of central initiative to resolve the tangle.
Former chief minister and CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan wanted Chidambaram to be removed from the cabinet as his statement not only "violated the Constitution" but also amounted to creating tension among the people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Terming the statement as "extremely unfortunate", Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala said the issue would be brought to the Prime Minister's notice.
Hitting out at Chidambaram, Kerala Water Resources Minister P J Joseph wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to drop him from the cabinet as his speech amounted to "breach of oath".
Joseph, who belongs to the Kerala Congress (M), a key partner in the UDF, said Chidambaram had "forfeited" his right to continue in the cabinet through his statement.
Joseph's comments were echoed by his ministerial colleague, Kerala industries minister, P K Kunhalikutty. Terming the Union Home Minister's statement as "unfortunate,' he said it does not "befit the post (Chidambaram) is holding".
CP(M) state secretary Pinaryi Vijayan accused Chidambaram of attempting to worsen the Mullaperiyar issue by "pitting people of the two states against each other". He wanted Congress president Sonia Gandhi to spell out her party's national stand on the issue.
Congress MPs from Kerala M I Shanawas and PT Thomas, senior leader V M Sudheeran, CPI-M politbureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and former water resources minister and RSP leader N K Premachandran also slammed Chidambaram.
BJP state president V Muraleedharan said Chidambaram's statement exposed "the polical drama being played by the Congress" on the dam issue.
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