Anti-Kudankulam protestors pulled out of talks with the expert panel appointed by the Centre, after its activists were attacked by nuclear plant supporters on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, persons belonging to the Hindu Munani group had assaulted two members of the Peoples' Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which is spearheading the agitation against the power plant.
One of the PMANE members, Raj Lingam, was pulled out of the car and thrashed at Tirunelveli, around 650 km from Chennai. Some women were also beaten up, said M Pushparayan, a PMANE activist.
The two activists attacked were in the panel formed by the Tamil Nadu government, which was to meet the Central experts for the fourth round of talks later in the day.
"Our members were assaulted when they went to participate in the talks. We are calling off our talks," said PMANE coordinator SP Udayakumar.
As soon as news of the assault reached Kudankulam and Idinthakarai, the villagers gathered at the gates of the nuclear plant and began a protest. A complaint was lodged with the police, who detained around 10 people in connection with the attack.
The Central experts group, meanwhile, certified that the plant was absolutely safe and met all current safety requirements.
{{/usCountry}}The Central experts group, meanwhile, certified that the plant was absolutely safe and met all current safety requirements.
{{/usCountry}}But the anti-nuke activists alleged that the panel did not answer their questions and was unable to address their fears, which, they said, was another reason for pulling out of the talks.