The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy coordinator, S.P. Udayakumar, who is spearheading an agitation against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, has snapped ties with the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
“Since I am making all efforts, on behalf of the PMANE, against the KKNPP in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, I have to move with people from all walks of life. Hence, I cannot be identified myself with a particular party. I’ve made it clear to the party leadership. I will be acting independently in the anti-nuclear issues, while backing the AAP in the Delhi Assembly elections,” he said in a Facebook post.
He said he protested the AAP’s lack of clarity on India’s nuclear policy. “While I firmly believe that the AAP would be a right alternative to the Congress, the BJP and the Communist parties at the national level, the party is not ready to understand the serious problems threatening the livelihood of the Tamils and their very existence,” he said.
When Dr. Udayakumar decided to surrender, along with his friends, after a march towards the KKNPP complex was stopped by the police on September 10, 2012, Mr. Kejriwal visited them at Idinthakarai and persuaded them to continue their struggle.
Subsequently, senior AAP leader Prashant Bhushan, who visited the protesters at Idinthakarai on a few occasions, persuaded them to join the party.
