Anti-nuclear activist issues legal notice to home ministry

, June 19: Anti-

power activist S.P.Udayakumar Wednesday served legal notice to union home ministry, demanding disciplinary action against an intelligence official for leaking a secret internal security document to the media to malign him.

Udayakumar, who is spearheading a movement against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) coming up in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, has posted the text of the legal notice on his Facebook page.

The legal notice seeks the union home secretary to "initiate appropriate departmental disciplinary proceedings against Mr.S.A.Rizvi, joint director, Intelligence Bureau (MHA) for his grade misconduct of releasing a secret document relating to internal security of the country to the press" within seven days of receiving the notice.

According to the legal notice, Udayakumar would approach the Madras High Court for issuance of appropriate writ against the union home secretary if action against the official is not taken.

Udayakumar in his notice issued through his advocate said the Intelligence Bureau had sent a report captioned "Concerted efforts by select foreign funded NGOs to take down Indian development projects" to the home minister, the finance minister, the Prime Minister's Office, the cabinet secretary and others and it was leaked to the media to defame him.

He said the third paragraph of the report reads: "In 2011, anti-nuclear activism stalled the nearly commissioned Russian-assisted, Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu. The protests were spear-headed by Ohio State University funded, S.P. Udayakumar, and host of Western-funded NGOs.

"The larger conspiracy was unravelled when a German national provided Udayakumar a scanned map of all nuclear plant and uranium mining locations in India. The map included contact details of 50 Indian anti-nuclear actvists revealing an intricate network aimed to 'take-down' India's nuclear programme through NGO activism."

According to the notice, the IB official by stating that Udayakumar was involved in a conspiracy to take down India's nuclear programme has lowered his esteem and moral character and credit in the minds of public.

IANS