India: Citizens’ Statement Against Prime Minister’s Malicious Comment on Koodankulam Struggle

February 27, 2012

Who is under the foreign hand?

We strongly deplore the PM’s recent statement that the people’s struggle against Koodankulam nuclear power plant is instigated by foreign agencies and funds. We cannot accept our PM to stoop to such low levels.

This allegation is a clear hint from him that the Indian people who could think on their own to elect the Congress-led UPA in the last general election, have suddenly lost the capacity to think ‘correctly about their safety and energy security. Eminent Indian intellectuals like historian Romila Thapar, economist Amit Bhaduri, diplomat Nirupam Sen, scientist PM BHargava, and the Indian Institute of Science director P.Balaram have strongly opposed this nuclearisation of India. They surely represent the ‘thinking component’ of India that Dr. Singh cited.

In reality, it is the Manmohan Singh-led government that is pushing the interests of foreign corporate from Russia, USA and France etc. by giving blanket allocation of Indian territories to them for setting up dangerous nuclear power parks. Similar was the case with the Indo-US nuclear deal, when the government repeatedly tried to bypass the Parliament under pressure from these ‘foreign hand’.

Let Indians not lose their hard-earned freedom of independent thoughts and expression to this sold-out government, and condemn the very people who give them the credibility to govern.

In the light of the worldwide shift in public opinion and government policies against nuclear energy, it is only China and India that have significant expansion plans. At the very least it is expected in the light of this global reality that the Indian government which claims to be democratic should establish a complete moratorium on the further development of nuclear energy. It must encourage the widest possible debate on nuclear energy and show respect for the growing voices of democratic dissent, instead of resorting to the cheapest forms of chauvinism and maligning its own people.

Justice BG Kolse-Patil, Mumbai

Prashant Bhushan, New Delhi

PM Bhargava, Scientist, Hyderabad

Admiral L. Ramdas, Alibag

Lalita Ramdas, Alibag

Meher Engineer, Kolkata

Rohan D’Souza, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Asit Das, Researcher and Activist, New Delhi

P K Sundaram, Researcher, New Delhi

Sunil, Samajwadi Jan Parishad, MP

Vaishali Patil, Activist, Konkan (Maharashtra)

Praful Bidwai, Journalist, New Delhi

Achin Vanaik, New Delhi

Sumit Chakravarthy, Editor, Mainstream Weekly

Anil Chaudhary, Indian National Social Action Forum (INSAF)

Neeraj Jain, Lokayat, Pune

Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha

Ashwin Gambhir, PRAYAS, Pune

Nagraj Adve, Delhi Platform, New Delhi

Vijayan MJ, Delhi Forum, New Delhi

Vinuta Gopal, Greenpeace India, Bangalore

Karuna Raina, Greenpeace India, New Delhi

Bauddhaditya, Delhi University

Priyanka Singh, Samata, New Delhi

Yashwir Arya, Azadi Bachao Andolan,

Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizen’s Web

Rajendra Sharma, Hisar, Haryana

Ankur Jaisawal, Journalist, New Delhi

Joe Athilay, New Delhi

Bhupendra Singh Raut, NAPM

Amit Tharayath Vergese, Delhi Forum,New Delhi

Seela M Mahapatra, Delhi Solidarity Group, New Delhi