Stalin waves ‘Tamil’ flag to mark start of anti-INO rally

The rally planned by Vaiko started from Palanganatham in Madurai and proceeded towards Cumbum in Theni district. The 10-day rally includes 10 public meetings in places on the way in which Vaiko would address about the hazards of the INO and other projects that are harmful for the environment. 

Vaiko would cover 200 km accompanied by 300 of his supporters, whom he calls ‘300 Spartans.’ Also during the rally a new flag with the symbols of fish, tiger and bow and arrow, representing the three kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandyas, would be carried by the supporters of Vaiko, under the new banner, Movement Against Neutrino (MAN). 

After inaugurating the rally, Stalin said that it is not just a rally to condemn the Union government for imposing the Neutrino project but also an awareness rally in which the harmful effects of the INO would be informed to the people. Madurai is the place from where Kannagi commenced her journey for justice and similarly, Vaiko had commenced his journey for justice against the INO from here. 

He also said that the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to turn Tamil Nadu into a burial ground and so the government is bringing schemes like hydrocarbon, GAIL, Sterlite, INO and so on. But when there is need for water, the government fails to implement such schemes for the people of the state, he added. 

“The Supreme Court has directed the Union government twice to form the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). But, on both the occasions, the Centre failed to follow the orders of the apex court and the judicial independence is at peril now,” Stalin said. 

The DMK working president alleged that the Centre is following a dual stand on different issues. “In Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project the Centre refused to implement the scheme because the UNESCO opposed it. But the same UNESCO has listed the Western Ghats as a biodiversity hot spot, but the recommendations are not heeded by the Union government in the INO project proposed to be located there,” noted Stalin.  He added that the INO would destroy the pristine environment of the Western Ghats.