Endorsing Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s charges against the Centre, MDMK leader Vaiko on Sunday said that the Congress-led government was acting against Tamil Nadu’s interests in the Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar disputes.
Coming down heavily on the Centre, he told reporters that it had failed in its duty to obtain the release of Cauvery water for Tamil Nadu. As a result, the delta district of Thanjavur, considered as the rice bowl of the State, faced the threat of turning into a barren land. There was no guarantee of starting kuruvai crops in the delta districts, as release of water from Mettur was delayed.
Flaying Kerala government, he said it was atrociously blocking TN’s efforts to fill the test boreholes in the Mullaiperiyar Dam.
Condemning the NCERT cartoon on the anti-Hindi protests in Tamil Nadu, he said, “I have already written to the Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal demanding its immediate removal.”
“It has become a habit for the Union government to demean the government and people of Tamil Nadu. Students in the State are known for their English language fluency and it is wrong to depict them as ignorant and violent youths.”
On June 12, the MDMK plans to hold a protest in Chennai condemning the Congress-led UPA government and the NCERT for publishing such cartoons hurting the sentiments of Tamils, he added.