Former Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday blamed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's 'Mullaperiyar is safe' statement earlier in the Assembly for the Supreme Court's ruling on October 28 that, according to him, went against Kerala's interests.
Kerala wanted the water level in Mullaperiyar to be maintained at 137 feet but the Supreme Court went with the Mullaperiyar Supervisory Committee's assessment that the level could be held at 138 ft till October 31 and from then on at 139.5 ft till November 10. This was based on the upper levels already established for the dam. The apex court will hear the case next on November 11.
Chennithala said in the Assembly that Tamil Nadu had used Pinarayi's words to secure a favourable verdict for itself. He also alleged that Kerala had failed to submit to the court on time the relevant documents.
Chennithala said that the chief minister, by his words on Mullaperiyar, had diluted Kerala position that was firmly held from the time of Travancore dewan C P Ramaswamy. The former Opposition Leader called this a "legal and political" failure.
The chief minister was not in the House but Industries minister P Rajeev objected. He said the chief minister was only referring to the panic sought to be creates through the social media. He said the UDF was in power whenever the Supreme Court had passed orders that were contrary to Kerala's stand, in 2006 and 2014.
On October 25, responding to a Calling Attention moved by Udumbanchola MLA M M Mani, the chief minister had said: "Legal action will be taken against those spreading fake information on social media with the intention of creating a scare about the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam." He also said the dam was safe at the moment. Further, he had emphasised that Tamil Nadu was cooperating with Kerala on the issue.
The chief minister was clearly attempting to snuff out incipient feelings of distrust between the two neighbouring states.
