With the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) directing Karnataka to continue releasing water at the rate of 5,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar have called a meeting of the Members of Parliament and Ministers from Karnataka in the Union government in New Delhi, during the ongoing Parliament session, on Wednesday, to discuss the situation.
Mr. Shivakumar said that the direction has put the State in a “catch-22 situation” and it has sought the Centre’s intervention to resolve the issue.
On Wednesday evening, a delegation led by Mr. Siddaramaiah is expected to meet Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Mr Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources Minister, appealed to the opposition BJP, its leaders and MPs to prevail upon the Prime Minister to bail out Karnataka.
“We are in a catch-22 situation, we do not have water, but still have to respect whatever may be the decision of the authority. We are appealing before the apex court. I am going to Delhi to meet the MPs. We will also take a delegation to the Central (Jal Shakti) Minister. We have also requested the PM to intervene and bail us out,” Mr. Shivakumar said. “The Central government has to help us out. BJP leadership has to join us to save Karnataka.”
CWMA’s directions came after the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) last week recommended that Karnataka release water at the rate of 5,000 cusecs every day for the next 15 days to the neighbouring state.
Bommai’s suggestions
On former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s suggestion not to release water to Tamil Nadu and asking Karnataka to prepare for a legal battle, Mr. Shivakumar said, “We will consider this suggestion seriously, but his suggestions are aimed at putting us in a fix politically, in the court. We will fight legally, there is no other word on this.”
Mr. Shivakumar sought to know what they (BJP) did on the issue when in power in the State. “Did they not release water overnight?” he asked.
Hitting back, Mr. Bommai said that at every step, the Congress government had put the “farmers and common people of the State in a spot, in order to rescue itself.” It was to “cover up the Congress government’s failures” that Mr. Shivakumar and other Ministers were suggesting that a delegation to the Prime Minister to seek his intervention, he said. Unless the State’s legal team and experts speak about the availability of water in Tamil Nadu’s dams, this situation will continue, Mr. Bommai argued.
Pointing to the case coming up before the Supreme Court on Thursday, Mr. Shivakumar said, “We are not interested in releasing water at any cost, but the Court case should also be kept in mind... I am going to Delhi, requesting all MPs to put pressure on the Central government for intervention. We will put in all our efforts. Mr. Bommai tells us not to release water, but if court questions us on complying with the order (of authority), what options are left with me or Mr. Bommai,” Mr Shivakumar asked.
‘Keep politics aside’
“In the interest of the State, everyone should cooperate. We will have to apprise the Supreme Court about our situation. We will certainly fight legally,” the Deputy Chief Minister said, asking Mr. Bommai to ensure that the PM intervenes in the issue, “keeping politics aside.”
Noting that JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, in the Parliament, rightly suggested an out-of-court settlement based on his seniority and experience, Mr. Shivakumar said Mr. Bommai being a former Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister should be speaking on similar lines, with his experience.
Taking a similar stand, JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that Karnataka should have approached the Supreme Court with an emergency appeal soon after CWMA ordered release of water rather than “show haste” in releasing water to Tamil Nadu.
