Chennai, March 31 (IANS) Advocate and Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement member Prashant Bhushan Saturday charged the central government of stifling democratic protests by filing cases against protestors against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).

Addressing the villagers of Idinthakarai in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from here, Bhushan said the government is stifling democracy and people’s voice by filing cases against the anti-KNPP movement leaders.
He said Japan is closing down its nuclear power plants though 34 percent of its power needs are met from this source.
Bhushan’s speech in English was translated in Tamil by S.P.Udayakumar, co-ordinator of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) that is spearheading the anti-KNPP protest since last year.
Bhushan termed PMANE’s struggle as heroic and historic.