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Kerala to approach SC on dam row

January 30, 2007 01:45 IST

The Kerala government will move the Supreme Court to inform it about the details of the talks that it had held with Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar issue and its opposition to deployment of Central Industrial Security Force personnel at the dam.

The decision to approach the apex court was taken in the wake of Tamil Nadu government filing an application along with an affidavit seeking deployment of CISF and blaming Kerala for its decision to pull out of the talks.

"We will inform the Supreme Court about the stand taken by us at the two meetings, details of the talks, our decision to send naval teams to inspect the safety of the dam and the road blockade by various Tamil parties," state Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran said in New Delhi.

Premachandran, who met Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, made it clear that Kerala was still ready for talks with Tamil Nadu to find a negotiated and amicable settlement to the issue.

"I have told the Central minister that we are still ready for talks," he told reporters and expressed surprise over the Tamil Nadu government's 'abrupt decision' to pull out of the talks, which were friendly.

"Tamil Nadu Irrigation Minister Dorai Murugan had said after the ministerial level talks in New Delhi that it was friendly, but the very next day Chief Minister M Karunanidhi announced in Chennai that it was pulling out of talks because of the adamant attitude of the Kerala government," he said.

On deployment of CISF personnel, he said law and order was a strictly state subject and such a move was against the federal nature of the Constitution. He said the state government was yet to decide on whether to file an affidavit or an application in the apex court and was holding consultations with legal experts.

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