Have patience on Mullaperiyar issue: Vasan

Chennai, Dec 10: Senior Congress Leader and Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation G K Vasan today said the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu should maintain patience on sensitive issues like Mullaperiyar.

Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Vasan said the Tamil Nadu Government had convened at all-party meeting on the issue and after reaching a consensus to deal with it in a step by step process, wanted the Opposition not to politicise it.

He took strong exception to the reported criticism of the Opposition saying they were making unwarranted comments and attempting to divert the issue.

''It is the duty of everybody, especially the Opposition, to support the government in this regard.'' He hoped the proposed Ministerial level talks would not only be fruitful but also reflect the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu.

On the desecration E V R Periyar's statue at Srirangam recently, Mr Vasan described the incident and the subsequent attacks on Hindu places of worship in different places of the state as wrong.

Mr Vasan said Tamil Nadu stood for secularism and we should not give room for violence. The state government had dealt the issue with an iron hand.

UNI