Stop blaming Centre,PM for Mullaperiyar issue: minister

MoS in PMO V Narayanasamy says PM can't intervene in this,since the case is with Supreme Court.

Union Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy on Saturday said that the political parties in Tamil Nadu should stop blaming the Centre and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the Mullaperiyar Dam issue between Tamil Nadu and Kerala as the matter was with the Supreme Court.

“Some political parties in the state are trying to campaign against the Prime Minister over the Mullaperiyar Dam issue. He cannot intervene in this,since the case is with the Supreme Court,” the minister told reporters here

Even after the Prime Minister intervened,following letters from chief ministers of both states,he said,the two states were not co-operating for talks.

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“Tamil Nadu said it wanted the Supreme Court to decide,when Kerala approached the Prime Minister to intervene. They should either wait for the Supreme Court or they should solve it smoothly between themselves,” he said.

The Prime Minister cannot intervene as water bodies and rivers were under the states’ jurisdiction,he said.

Asked about the proposed black flag protest announced by some parties during the Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Tamil Nadu starting tomorrow,Narayanasamy said,”Their black flags will only worsen the situation in the already tensed states and will not help in solving the problem in any way.”

Kerala has been insisting that the 116-year old Mullaperiyar Dam be replaced with a new one citing safety concerns,while Tamil Nadu has strongly opposed it saying the existing structure was safe.