Over a month after protests began at Kathiramangalam in Thanjavur district, DMK President MK Stalin visited the village on Monday. Speaking to protesting residents, Stalin attacked the AIADMK government of betraying their interests and kowtowing to the Centre.
Residents of Kathiramangalam have been protesting against the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), demanding that it halt all its operations in the Cauvery basin that they allege has contaminated their ground water and ruined agricultural land. The residents have also been up in arms against the arrest of 10 protesters from June 30.
Several opposition parties including the DMK have voiced their support for the protesters and demanded the release of the men arrested from the village. Speaking to the Kathiramnagalam residents, Stalin said on Monday that their demands remain unchanged.
He accused the AIADMK of betraying the people by bypassing public consultations to allow the ONGC to begin its operations in the area. "When the DMK was in power, we only got as far as discussing how public consultation will be conducted for ONGC operations," claimed Stalin. "But the AIADMK went ahead and allowed ONGC to start work. So, who has betrayed the people of Kathirmangalam?" he asked.
The Opposition leader assured residents that the DMK will continue extending support for their protests, and will resolve the issue when in power. "When DMK comes to power, all your problems will end. But till then we will keep protesting, even if they slap cases against me," he said.
Stalin also alleged that the state government is now merely a slave of the Centre and could do little to fight schemes that were not beneficial to the people of Tamil Nadu. "When Jayalalithaa was alive, she opposed NEET and GST. But now, the current government listens to everything that the Centre says. They just use Jayalalithaa's name but do not follow anything that she stood for," declared Stalin.