CMB stand-off: State government to move contempt plea today

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami with the lone agenda to discuss the way forward in the issue. 

Senior ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Ministers Dindigul C Sreenivasan, KA Sengottaiyan, P Thangamani, SP Velumani, D Jayakumar, C Ve Shanmugam, R Kamaraj, OS Manian, and R Doraikkannu were part of the meeting. 

At the meeting, a detailed slideshow and possible steps the government can resort to was also presented by the bureaucrats. The legal advice received from the state’s counsel at the apex court was also taken up for discussion. 

Sources said that the state’s stand at present is to move a contempt plea. 

“Our decision follows the legal advice from our counsel in Delhi and as well as our Advocate General. We would file our petition before the Court on Saturday,” one of the sources added.

Six farmers from Nagapattinam district attempted suicide but the police prevented them from taking the extreme step. Cauvery S Dhanapalan, General Secretary of Cauvery Delta Farmers Protection Association, said,  “The Centre is not allowing us to live in peace and the State is refusing to let us die. Even after the apex court’s verdict, what prevents the centre from forming CMB?”