Vanakkam. I hear that you are coming to Kanyakumari today to engage in a 45-hour meditation on the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial starting st Kanyakumari from today onwards.
As a citizen of India, I really thought that a senior political leader and a long-time Chief Minister of Gujarat and two-term Prime Minister of India, you would not do anything to violate the poll code that is in implementation all over the country.
It has been a customary practice that when the election hustings come to an end, we keep a complete silence in order to facilitate a free and fair poll on the polling date. But now your meditation that starts today violates that practice and makes a joke out of the traditional electoral process.
The Election Commission of India has been keeping quite even after formal complaints have been submitted to them by the Congress and the Communist parties. People all over the country are already very concerned about the EVMs and the VVPATs, the larger electoral process and the overall situation that prevails here now.
Unlike Swami Vivekananda’s meditation some 132 years ago, a humongous amount of people’s money, human resources, national time and energy, media attention and so forth are being spent on your meditation now. Tens of thousands of fisherfolks, small traders, roadside vendors, tourists, vehicle operators and others are drastically affected by this event. Just like demonetization and Corona lock down, sufficient time was not given to the local people to plan our lives and economic activities. More importantly, the national focus on the long and convoluted poll process has been abruptly disrupted by the meditation.
I know fully well that my little whimper is not going to change anything in this country although I have been told repeatedly since my childhood that all are equal before the law in our country. I am fully aware that the ECI, the SCI and all others would only be mute spectators of your meditation and would do nothing to render justice to the locals, more than 900 candidates in fray in the 57 parliamentary constituencies across the country, and to the citizens of India elsewhere.
Given this situation, let me take this opportunity to bring an important issue to your kind attention please. But before that, let me tell you that I am from Kanyakumari, an ardent admirer of Swami Vivekananda and I have visited the Rock Memorial umpteen number of times. Since I am very familiar with the geography of the Rock Memorial, please allow me to request you for a favour.
When you come out of the room where you are going to stay, please look straight ahead across the sea. And you will see the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, which is vehemently opposed by the people of southern Tamil Nadu and southern Kerala.
I am sure you may have a long list of important things to meditate upon. But please include the Koodankulam project and the larger nuclear energy issue also to it. I know your party and government have been advocating nuclear power plants for our energy security and nuclear bombs for our national security for a long time.
When you are on the rock, please think if nuclear power plants are safe for a thickly and densely populated country like ours. As the minister for Atomic Energy, please think what we are going to do with a huge amount of nuclear waste that we are accumulating fast. And where we are going to keep them in a safe and secure manner. Please do think about the time and cost overruns of these projects, and the disastrous impact these projects have on our national exchequer, our people’s health and well-being, and most importantly, on our ecological wellness, particularly of our seas, coasts, coastal people, fishing activities, our people’s food and nutrition security, our national security, and the future well-being of our progeny.
Thank you your time and consideration.
Yours truly,
S. P. Udayakumaran, Ph.D.
Nagercoil,
May 30, 2024.
