State panel is 3-3

CHENNAI: The six-member team constituted by the Tamil Nadu government on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) seems to be evenly poised with three persons opposing the plant on the one side and the other three — two top district officials and another nominee — expected to toe the government line.While two members, M P Jesuraj and M Pusphparayan, were nominated by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which is now spearheading the agitation at Idinthakarai, a third member is J Thangaraj, who is said to be a close aide of Balaprajathipathi Adigalar, the head of the Ayyavazhi cult.The fourth member, also roped in by the officials, is Yuvan Ambrose, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Thoothukudi, who is part of PMANE. Apart from that the Collector, R Selvaraj, and superintendent of police, Vijendra Bidari, are in the committee that will hold talks with the 15-member panel of the Central government.Leaving aside the fact that many activists, protesting against nuclear energy, are opposing the inclusion of Thangaraj as they see Balaprajathipathi Adigalar as a turncoat, it not clear how the State panel would be facing the Central committee on an equal footing on issues relating to science and technology for none of the six have a scientific background, while the Central committee is packed with people with science background and experts from the nuclear establishment.