[1]Tamil Nadu additional director general of police S. George on Tuesday said normalcy had returned to the Koodankulam region and warned of stringent action against those indulging in violence or spreading rumours about the nuclear plant.
“We are on the alert. Police is preparing a list of people involved in the violence at Koodankulam and Idinthakarai”, George told reporters, adding that so far 52 men and women had been arrested for rioting and unlawful assembly near the nuke plant “with the intention of damaging it”.
Later in the evening, south zone inspector general Rajesh Das said his search teams had closed in on the protest leader S.P. Udayakumar. “He is moving from place to place but we have located his position. We will get him soon”, the IG said.
Obviously inspired by Team Anna activist Arvind Kejriwal, the protesters have announced they would begin a protest demonstration standing in the sea. Earlier, Kejriwal had in his speech drew a parallel between the agitation against increasing the storage level of the Indira Sagar Dam and the anti-KKNPP stir. Soon afterwards, the copycat demonstration in the seawater was announced to imitate the Narmada campaigners agitating by standing in water.
Not all agitations were against the nuke plant; some demonstrations sought action against Udayakumar and associates, holding them responsible for the violence. Tamil Nadu Congress president B.S. Gnanadesikan and former Union minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan demanded firm action against the PMANE leaders, accusing them of fanning trouble in and around Koodankulam.
“Chief minister Jayalalithaa should take firm action, deal with these trouble-makers with an iron hand, said Elangovan.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/plant2jpgcropdisplayjpg-559