Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandhan on Sunday expressed his willingness to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, along with chief minister Oommen Chandy, to press the state’s case for a new dam in Mullaperiyar.
Mr Achuthanandhan told mediapersons here on Sunday that once the Prime Minister gave an appointment, he will go along with the chief minister if it will help to resolve the issue.
Earlier, the chief minister had said that it will be better if Mr Achuthanandan accompanied him to call on the Prime Minister.
Mr Chandy met Mr Achuthanandan at the Aluva Palace on Saturday night.
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Girl snubs cycle with Badal photo
dc correspondent
Chandigarh, Dec. 11
It seems women power is becoming difficult to handle for the Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD) government in the state. After Slapgate, which hogged national attention, a 16-year-old schoolgirl had caused a lot of embarrassment to the chief minister Parkash Singh Badal-led Akali-BJP government. Manjit kaur of Chakowal village in Hoshiarpur district stumped the state government when she refused to take a free bicycle carrying Mr Badal’s photograph. The bicycles were being distributed under the Punjab government’s much-publicised Mai Bhago scheme. Mai Bhago was the legendary Sikh women warrior who fought alongside Guru Gobind Singh and believed to be stayed on with the Guru as one of his body guards.
In a letter written to her school principal, Manjit Kaur, who is a daughter of a marginal farmer, has refused to accept the bicycle under the Mai Bhago scheme. Citing the reason that “Badal was the chief minister when killing of Sikhs started in 1978 and he had even written to the Central government, which reflects that he also supported the Army action on Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in 1984”.