Holding the Congress equally responsible for the Cauvery imbroglio, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar urged the UPA government to put on hold constituting the Cauvery Management Board as per Sec 6 (A) of the Inter-state Water Dispute Act, using its discretionary powers.
Shettar said that constituting the Management Board needs to be ratified by Parliament. Since two civil suits filed by Karnataka are pending before the Supreme Court and the Tribunal, the Centre can use its discretionary powers to constitute the management board only after the two cases are disposed.
The CM said this was explained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when an all-party delegation met him in Delhi recently. Union Law Minister Ashwin Kumar, who was also present, had promised to take a suitable decision, he said.
“We are optimistic that the PM will use his discretionary powers and defer constituting the management board till two pending cases are disposed,” he added.
He said the Congress cannot blame the State government for notification of the tribunal order as floor leaders of both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council were part of the delegation.