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Karunanidhi ready
to consider realignment of Setu project
Party terms VHP edict to behead him an attack on Tamil sentiments
WSN Network
 Chennai:
The Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi has said he is open to
considering realignment of the Sethusamudram project, and that his
government’s only priority is its implementation. ‘‘It’s for the
engineers to decide on any realignment,’’ he told newspersons. The
Tamil Nadu CM said the project should be completed on time and added
that political demonstrations for the implementation of the
Sethusamudram project would continue throughout the state.
Karunanidhi was
responding to questions whether the Congress leadership had put
pressure on him to stop making any more ‘‘outrageous’’ remarks on
Lord Ram, particularly in light of the fact that he had refused to
respond to VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti’s ‘‘dharmadesh’’ (religious
edict) calling for his head.
Ruling out any
differences with the Congress, the DMK veteran hoped nothing
‘‘adverse’’ would happen to his party’s relationship with Congress
and said there was no need for the Congress to talk on the issue
‘‘as the Sethusamudram case is with the Supreme Court.’’
In the process,
however, Karunanidhi embarrassed his party subordinate and Union
minister for shipping and road transport T R Baalu, for the minister
had only the previous day said there was no question of realignment
of the project and that the earlier remark made by Karunanidhi to
this effect were ‘‘out of anguish to see the project through.’’
Baalu, however, shot off a letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh
on Sunday seeking action against Vedanti for issuing a ‘‘fatwa’’
against Karunanidhi.
‘‘On behalf of DMK
parliamentary party, I appeal to the government of India to
interfere forthwith and take immediate action with a firm hand, so
as to put an end to such unlawful, undemocratic provocative attitude
of persons like Ram Vilas Vedanti, who is driven by religious
fundamentalist forces, who have a deep-rooted design to destabilise
the country,’’ Baalu said in his letter. Quoting media reports,
Baalu pointed out ‘‘such barbarious and heinous threats on the life
of our beloved leader have sent shock waves across the Tamil
community and infuriated crores of Tamil people all over the world
and unequivocally hurt Tamil sentiments cutting across party
lines,’’ he said.
26
September, 2007
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