It appears that the Congress party is seeking revenge on Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalaitha for her firm stance against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's pet project - the Kudunkulam Nuclear Power Plant. Jayalalitha ruffled feathers during her visit to Delhi after assuming charge as Chief Minister and tried to pull the rug under Home Minister P.Chidambaram. A perturbed Chiddu was waiting for a chance to push Jaya into a corner.
Thanks to the never ending Mullaiperiyar dam row...this has now become a powerful tool for the Congress to corner Jayalilathaa...Congress insiders say there was no reason for the Kerala congress government to rake up this issue at this point...as Mullai Periyar dam’s strength and weakness were part of a litigation in the Supreme Court and the SC had already constituted expert committees to look into the issue.
Dinamani a leading Tamil daily published a story that a movie named ‘Dam 999’ is about to be released which allegedly shows that a weak dam, if broke would wreak havoc on the lives of people living nearby. This news item caused flutters when MPs from Tamil Nadu raked up this issue to cause linguistic frenzy.
The DMK was quick to raise this issue in the national capital and were on the forefront to stir trouble. Whispers doing rounds in DMK circles is that it was not because the DMK was concerned that the movie will create fear among people living around Mullaiperiyar dam... But the real reason for the DMK MPs to stir trouble was to divert the attention of the media from the 2G scam and any adverse reports on Kanimozhi's bail plea.
Sources say DMK MP's were particularly asked to raise dirt on the Mullaiperiyar dam issue by the party high command...this was a clear and clever strategy by the 87 year old DMK patriarch as this will not only to attention from the 2G scam, but also will put the Congress party at the Center and his arch rival in the State - Jayalilatha in a fix.
As predicted by the old fox Karunanidhi, this issue has now snowballed into a major controversy. The agitation of MPs from Tamil Nadu naturally united the Keralites and their concerns over the safety of Mullai Periyar dam. With the DMK playing its wicked game...the Central Government too saw this as an opportunity to seek revenge on Jayalilathaa...with the help of Intelligence Bureau and the Kerala Congress the Central Government is now playing tit for tat politics and pay back Amma in her own coin.
Following the tickle by the Intelligence Bureau, the entire Malayalam media debates were focussed on one question...the main question raised was.."when safety is the only concern in the Koodankulam nuclear plant, is it not the same safety concern on the dam?... However, the intelligence bureau and Kerala Congress was successful in manipulating the media to concentrate only on this issue and whip up frenzy. Further the omnipotent, strong Malayali officers' lobby in the center is also working overtime in the Mullaiperiyar dam issue.
Curiously, the Dam 999 movie’s Director who had announced that he would not move the Court against the ban on the movie has now moved the Supreme Court against the ban of TN government. The SC which had time and again upheld the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution is likely to lift the ban on the movie, which would be another setback for Amma in Court.
Now the Kerala Assembly has convened a 'emergency session’ to discuss the Mullai periyar dam row...which in all likelihood will force Jayalalitha to follow suit and pass a resolution...or if Jaya leads a delegation to Delhi like the Kerela Government then this question... "when safety is the only concern in the Koodankulam nuclear plant, is it not the same safety concern when it come to the dam?"..this will be the only talking point !... At the end because of the dam war...Jayalalitha’s much publicized sabbatical in Kodanadu is likely to be the causality. Whether the queen bee of Tamil Nadu would pass the ‘Agni Pariksha’ forced on her by her bête noire remains to be seen.
But for now it appears that the center's plan to damn amma with a dam is successful.
