New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-Secular of ‘doing politics’ over the Cauvery issue.
Speaking to the media, Siddaramaiah said, “Anyone can protest in a democracy. We are not going to disrupt the protest. BJP-JDS are doing politics on this issue. There is a hearing in the Supreme Court tomorrow regarding the Cauvery issue. Our lawyers will present a competent argument in our favor.”
On the opposition demanding his resignation over the issue, CM Siddaramaiah said, “When we called an all-party meeting on the issue of Cauvery river water sharing, did anyone say that I should resign from the post of CM? No one said in the all-party meeting that I should resign from the post of CM.”
Responding to the Bengaluru bandh called by farmers and pro-Kannada organizations to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that in the current situation it is difficult to release water, but still the state will follow it as per the Supreme Court’s direction. Is bound to do.
Shivkumar said, “In the current situation it will be difficult to release Cauvery water, but we will also have to follow the instructions of the Supreme Court. We respect the court. But at the same time we have to protect the interests of our state, no matter what. This is our duty.”
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Meanwhile, a meeting of pro-Kannada organizations was held in the capital ahead of the ‘Bengaluru Bandh’ called by several farmers and pro-Kannada organizations on September 26 to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
Pro-Kannada activist and former MLA Vatal Nagarah told the media after the meeting, “It has been decided to keep entire Karnataka closed on 29th September. More than 1,000 organizations across the state have supported our bandh. We also have the support of pro-Kannada organizations including Karave Shivaramegowda and Praveen Shetty.”
The State Sugarcane Producers Association is one of the major organizations which was the first to call the bandh.
Farmers have been protesting across Karnataka after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) ordered the state to release 5000 cusecs of water to its neighboring state Tamil Nadu for 15 days from September 13.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra on Thursday refused to intervene in the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, saying both the CWMA and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) meet regularly every 15 days. Water needs are being met and monitored.
The court refused to consider an application filed by the Tamil Nadu government to increase its share in Cauvery water from its current share of 5,000 to 7,200 cusecs per day.
Tamil Nadu had sought new guidelines from Karnataka for releasing Kaveri river water. It also claimed that the neighboring state has changed its stand and has released less amount of water than previously agreed.
Speaking to reporters today, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan called on Karnataka to respect the court order.
Murugan said, “As per the Supreme Court order to release water from Cauvery, water is now coming to Tamil Nadu. It is the duty of the Tamil Nadu government to maintain normalcy. It is political morality whether to follow the Supreme Court order or not. “We hope that with the released Cauvery water, we can save Kuruvai irrigation.”
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