Anti-nuclear activist seeks intervention of three women CMs on nuclear deals

Chennai, Jan 9 (ANI): Convener of a movement opposing the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant on Monday urged the three leading women chief ministers of India to scrap all the nuclear deals that were inked by the Central Government with foreign countries.

Convener of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, a campaign against the Kudankulam project, S P Udayakumar, has written a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati seeking their intervention into the matter.

Kumar said that he had requested the three leaders to raise the issue in an upcoming chief ministers' conference.

"We are appealing to them that they should rake up this issue in the chief minister's conference next month in Delhi and we are also requesting them to scrap not only Kudankulam, but also resent all the nuclear agreements that the Manmohan Singh Government has signed with the United States, France, Russia and scores of other countries," he told the media here.

Kumar further accused Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for rampant signing of nuclear deals that might jeopardize the safety of civilians.

"Manmohan Singh Government is signing agreements with all kinds of countries, mostly secretive agreements. These agreements compromise the basic interests of our people. So, we have to put him on the spot. We have no other go," said Kumar.

"We are not interested in vote politics, we are not interested in fighting for an office that is not we are after. We want to tell the people who is doing what? That's what we are doing," he added.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is building two 1,000 MW atomic power reactors at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from Chennai, at an outlay of Rs.13, 171 crore.

The first unit was slated to be commissioned in December. However villagers, citing fears for their lives and safety, started their agitation in August and brought all the project-related activities to a standstill. (ANI)