Protesters opposing Mullaperiyar dam today attacked state Finance Minister O Panneerselvam after he tried to pacify them.
As tension escalated on the inter-state border town of Kumily over the Mullaperiyar dam issue, protestors on the Tamil Nadu side on Sunday threw slippers at finance minister O Panneerselvam and gheraoed him even as Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa announced convening a special assembly session on December 15.
“To express the views of Tamil Nadu and all the political parties, a special assembly session will be convened on December 15, to pass a resolution that this state will not give up our rights over the dam because of the imaginary threat to the safety and security of the dam,” Jayalalithaa said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Paneerselvam, a senior AIADMK leader, faced the ire of the protestors on the TN side of the border town of Kumily when he tried to persuade them to give up their agitation following a lathicharge to quell their demonstration, which left 50 persons injured.
Police said Paneerselvam, the latest VIP victim of footwear attacks, escaped unhurt and was later taken away from the spot via another route.
Violence broke out after a man told about 10,000 protestors on the TN side that he had been allegedly attacked by some persons while walking down a road in Kumily on the Kerala border, police said.
This led to the crowd pelting stones at some on the Kerala side from where there was retaliation. Police used lathicharge to disperse the crowd here while their counterparts also controlled protestors on the other side. In Kerala, as tension mounted, the road to Theni remained closed and a large police contingent, including RAF, was deployed to prevent marchers from Tamil Nadhu from crossing over to Kerala.
— With Agency inputs
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