BENGALURU: The BJP hit out strongly at Siddaramaiah for asking the PM to intervene in the Cauvery issue, calling it ‘ridiculous’.
“It is ridiculous as well as an escapist move on part of the CM to urge the PM to intervene in the Cauvery dispute. The executive has little role to play as the matter is before the judiciary. The highest court of the land is seized of the matter. By this rather devious attempt to rope in the Prime Minister in this dispute at this juncture, Siddaramaiah has an ulterior motive to indulge in politicking. The Congress government’s attempt to rope in the PM is essentially to cover up its judicial bungling,” BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said in a statement.
He further criticised Siddaramaiah’s statement that the government was not consulted by senior counsel Fali S Nariman.
“Now it has been proved beyond doubt that the ‘goodwill gesture offer’ of releasing 10,000 cusecs of water on a daily basis for 10 days is the biggest judicial bungling and the sole reason for the present crisis,” he said.
“The chief minister’s statement that Karnataka’s senior consel Fali Nariman made the offer of “goodwill gesture” without the ‘knowledge and consent’ of the state government is a telling comment on the state of affairs in the government,” he said.
He also condemned the lathicharge on farmers saying it was unwarranted. “The farmers are already badly bruised on account of the betrayal by the state government. This lathicharge has all the potential to further aggravate the situation,” he added.
Gowda flies to Delhi to meet Modi, seeks intervention
Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening in New Delhi and apprised him about the ongoing Cauvery agitation in the state. After the meeting, Gowda told reporters that the PM had already received the details of the agitation from intelligence agencies. “I drew the attention of the PM to the CM’s letter and urged him to convene a meeting of CMs of Cauvery basin states to defuse the crisis, “ Gowda said. Gowda called on Karnataka’s counsel F S Nariman and discussed the future course of action. Gowda backed Nariman and said those blaming Nariman for the setback in the legal battle are ignorant of the intricacies of the dispute.