21 Sep 2009, 0925 hrs IST

India News: CHENNAI, India: AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa today accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of striking a 'compromising posture' on construction of a new dam across the Mullaperiyar river by Kerala, to which the state is opposed.

"When Union Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh permitted Kerala to do a feasibility study on constructing a dam across Mullaperiyar three days back, it was largely expected that Karunanidhi would object the move", she said in a statement.

But, she said, instead of opposing it, Karunanidhi issued a 'compromising posture' statement saying that since the Mullaiperiyar issue was still with the Supreme Court, the Centre would have given the permission".

Jayalalithaa wondered how the Chief Minister of a state and that too allying with the Centre could not have had any knowledge about the Ministry's permission to Kerala government for conducting the study.

Asking the state government to take immediate steps to stop the move by Kerala, she said "if he (Karunanidhi) ignores this issue, the state would not get even the current quota of water from that state".

"Apart from this, Tamil Nadu districts round Mullaiperiyar would suffer severe drought", she said, adding if the state government did not take any steps on the issue, her party would launch an agitation.

Kerala and downstream Tamil Nadu are locked in a row over the dam across the inter-state river with Kerala insisting on construction of a new reservoir holding that the existing structure was unsafe. But Tamil Nadu is opposed to it.