PM should take firm stand on dam row: BJP

THRISSUR: The Prime Minister’s indolent attitude is aggravating the Mullaperiyar row and he should emulate the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s intervention in the Kaveri dispute in 2003, BJP state president V Muralidharan said here on Wednesday.“The Prime Minister should not be a passive onlooker in an issue between two states. Being the head of the republic, he should take a firm stand and must call a meeting between the two states to find a mutually agreeable solution. It is worthwhile remembering how Vajpayee had intervened in the Kaveri water dispute between the governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry. The decades-old dispute was solved in two days,” he said.The main dispute was between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, but since Kerala and Pondicherry were party to the agreement of sharing water, the heads of all  states were invited to Delhi and the conflict was settled in two days. “The BJP will organise a solidarity chain at Walayar on December 25, the birthday of Vajpayee, to declare the policy of the party in the matter. The party has been doing its best to contain the situation by rallying support to the public in both states, through receiving Sabarimala pilgrims from Tamil Nadu and ensuring protection to them in Kerala. We are also setting up a toll-free number for the pilgrims from other states to seek support and protection,in case of untoward incidents in Kerala,” he said.