PALAKKAD: Sounding a belligerent note, Kerala Congress(M) chairman K M Mani said he would give another ten days for the Centre to resolve the Mullaperiyar issue or else the second phase of the agitation for a new dam would be launched.He was speaking after inaugurating the district conference of the Kerala Congress(M) at MP Auditorium in Mannarkad on Monday. In the second phase of the agitation, the tone and tenor of the strike would change though it would continue to be on the Gandhian mode, Mani said.“Any damage to the dam will not only put the lives of 35 lakh people in five districts of Kerala in danger but will also deny the much-needed drinking and irrigation water to five districts of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, it is in the interest of both the states to solve the issue,” he said.Maintaining that it was an issue of the whole state and the nation, Mani said national parties like the Congress, CPM and the BJP should have the same view whether they are in Tamil Nadu or Kerala.“They should visit the place and realise the truth. They should speak for the safety of the people of Kerala. There is no use in issuing advertisements if there is no truth in them. In the first place, we had allowed the construction of the dam as we had sympathy for the people of Tamil Nadu. Even if the new dam is constructed we will allow the same quantity of water to Tamil Nadu as in the present case. We do not follow the theory of attacking any Tamils who are working here. If at all there were such incidents, those were isolated acts of anti-social elements and will not be tolerated in Kerala,” Mani said.Mani said a sum of Rs 5 crore had been earmarked in the budget to build a new dam downstream. We will not budge even an inch from the demand for a new dam. We do not need the permission of anyone to build a dam within our soil,” the Minister said.
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