CHENNAI: A day after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy raised new objections to the formation and functioning of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), political parties in Tamil Nadu condemned him and also the Centre.
DMK working president MK Stalin said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had denied audience to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami and the Leader of Opposition, met the Karnataka CM without fail. This showed that he had least concern for Tamil Nadu.
Besides, the BJP-led Centre has acted hand-in-gloves with Karnataka in helping the latter create fresh bout of confusion over the Cauvery dispute, Stalin charged.
PMK founder S Ramadoss said Kumaraswamy had raised fresh objections to the Cauvery Authority while Karnataka Minister for Water Resources DK Sivakumar had said the State would not nominate its members for the Cauvery Authority and the Regulation Committee. “Both had conveyed only one message, that is, they would not accept the Cauvery Authority,” he added. Pointing out that the Supreme Court had vested the responsibility for implementing its verdict on the Cauvery dispute, Ramadoss said the Centre should render justice to Tamil Nadu now.
CPI State secretary R Mutharasan said Karnataka had stopped release of surplus water from its dams once the rains started abating there. At this stage, the Tamil Nadu government should take immediate steps to start the functioning of the Cauvery Authority to ensure release of water from Karnataka.
Meanwhile, DMK principal secretary Durai Murugan, in a statement, condemned the Tamil Nadu CM’s remarks at Mayiladuthurai on Monday that DMK did nothing to resolve the Cauvery dispute. Durai Murugan invited Palaniswami for a debate on the issue.