THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite Chief Minister Oommen Chandy urging his cabinet colleagues to desist from holding any kind of protest on the Mullaperiyar dam issue, two ministers have decided to observe fast on Monday.Water Resources Minister P J Joseph will observe fast in New Delhi while Finance Minister K M Mani will stage a fast at Chappath in Vandiperiyar in Idukki district. The two ministers justified their decision terming their fast as a Gandhian approach and as a mode of prayer. “The fast is not a protest but a prayer, in order to seek God’s blessing,’’ said Joseph. He said he would observe fast in Birla House in New Delhi. It is known that both ministers had contacted Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and conveyed their stand that the fast was not a form of protest. Earlier, the Chief Minister had urged the ministers to keep away from joining public protests as it would weaken Kerala’s stand on the Mullaperiyar dam issue.Joseph who, the other day, extended his support to Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan for the latter’s stand against the CPM politburo and announcing that he would fast along with the Opposition leader at Chappath, withdrew his statement on Sunday.Achuthanandan had announced a one-day fast on December 7 at Mullaperiyar to mobilise public opinion in favour of Kerala’s demand for a new dam.
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