Chidambaram eats his words

CHENNAI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday withdrew his remarks linking the fears over the safety of Mullaperiyar dam and the Piravom byelection.“Like some other speakers, I also made a passing reference to the forthcoming byelection. I take back that remark. That reference was not necessary and it was not my intention to hurt the feelings of anyone,” Chidambaram said here in a statement.Addressing a meeting on Saturday, Chidambaram had said, “It is not a fear that come midway, but a fear born out of byelection.”The Union Minister appealed to the people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to read the whole of his speech.During his speech, he had appealed to everyone to act with dignity, restraint and patience and said that fears over the safety of the dam were not justified but it was ‘‘our duty to allay the apprehensions on the safety of the dam’’.He also recalled that he had said that the safety of the dam was the concern of not only Kerala but also Tamil Nadu, because Tamil Nadu was dependent on the water from the dam.He had also said that everyone should wait for the report of the three-judge committee and decision of the Supreme Court.Chidambaram also wrote a letter to KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala that he did not want to hurt the feelings of anyone. The contents of the letter were almost identical to the statement.“I continue to believe that the (Mullaperiyar) issue must be resolved in a spirit of co-operation and brotherhood between the people of the two states,” the letter said.Cutting across political lines, leaders in Kerala reacted sharply to Chidambaram’s statement.Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Union Food Minister K V Thomas and many UDF and LDF leaders also took exception to his remarks on “bypoll fever”.CPM leader and Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan wanted Chidambaram to be dropped from the Cabinet.