PUDUCHERRY: Stating that the government of Kerala and Tamil Nadu had refused to sit together and speak to sort out the Mullaiperiyar dam issue, Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office, V Narayanasamy, on Saturday, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could intervene in the matter only if the States agree to withdraw cases filed in the Supreme Court. Speaking at an interactive session at the All India Editors’ Meet here, the minister said it was for the two states to sort out the dam issue through dialogue. While the Prime Minister’s intervention has been sought from both the sides, it was not possible at the current juncture as the matter was sub judice. “The Prime Minister can intervene if Kerala and Tamil Nadu withdraw the cases in the Supreme Court,” he said, in reply to a question in this regard. On the Lokpal bill, the minister said 187 amendments had been proposed by the Rajya Sabha and many were contradicting each other. The government would study the amendments and see which of those could be incorporated in the Bill, He said, and added that the only reason why the UPA government could not pass the Bill in the Rajya Sabha was that it lacked the numbers to push it. Commenting on the issue of bribery in the private sector, the minister, who also holds the portfolio of personnel, public grievances and pension, said the government was thinking of an amendment to the Indian Penal Code to address the issue. However, he refused to set a timeframe for the amendment and said it would not be done in the upcoming budget session.
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