Ignoring CPIM's official line opposing scrapping of the KoodankulamNuclear Power Plant, party veteran V S Achuthanandan today said atomic plantswere "very dangerous" and he would visit the coastal town in TamilNadu to pledge support to the ongoing stir against the plant.
"They (nuclear power plants) are very dangerous. I willgo there though the date of visit has not been decided", the 88-year-oldleader told reporters here.
Achuthanandan's comments came even as the CPI-M organ"Deshabhimani" today carried an article by party General SecretaryPrakash Karat spelling out the party's stand on the issue - opposing the demandfor scrapping KKNPP.
"The demand for closure of the plant after all theworks are completed by spending Rs 15,000 crore is neither practical nor wouldserve the country's interests", Karat said.
He said his party was not opposed to nuclear energy as suchbut their safety should be assured and the technological and financialadvantages taken into due account.
Since India had developed the nuclear technology on its ownthere was no need to import reactors, he said.
In the case of Koodankulam, he wanted the authorities tomake a serious note of the safety concerns expressed by the local people andsaid the party was opposed to unleashing repressive measures against theagitators and slapping sedition charges against them.
People's anxieties would not be removed till they wereassured of foolproof safety measures and the safety audit report published, hesaid.
Instead of doing that, the state and the central governmentshave adopted an approach of suppressing the agitation by use of police force,which the CPI(M) could not accept, Karat said.
Assuming a sharply divergent position, Achuthanandan saidthere was no change in his stand that nuclear power plants are dangerous.
He wanted the Government in India to follow the model set byJapanese Government which had closed down the nuclear energy plants afterFukushima disaster.
Earlier, Achuthanandan was restrained by the party fromvisiting Koodankulam, about 130 km from here, to lend support to the agitationspearheaded by Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).