Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's recent remarks over the Mullaperiyar dam has helped in easing the "tension" and improving the relations between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Industries Minister E P Jayarajan today said.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme here, the minister said confrontation was not a solution for anything and the LDF government wanted to settle issues through consensus without sacrificing the state's interest.
"After the Chief Minister's statement, the tension between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is getting eased. Now, the atmosphere is positive and sense of brotherhood is growing," Jayarajan told reporters here.
The construction of the new dam is possible only if the Supreme Court would take a stand in this regard, he said.
He was replying to questions on Vijayan's recent remark that as per the Supreme Court committee's finding, the Mullaperiyar dam was strong.
Vijayan had also said what would it do with the existing dam if a new dam was constructed.
The opposition Congress-led UDF had criticised Vijayan's statement signalling a shift in the state's stand on the dam row, which is a bone of contention between it and neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
