CHENNAI: DMK president MK Stalin on Monday warned the party’s agitation over the Cauvery water issue would escalate if the state government fails to address farmers’ demands. He said this after Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin led a farmers’ rally in Thanjavur.
Taking a swipe at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay directly, Stalin said Tamil Nadu is “seeing for the first time” a Chief Minister who would not utter a word against Karnataka’s refusal to release water, adding the TVK government is functioning like a fraudulent regime that has cheated farmers.
“If the demands of our farmers are not met, the agitation will only grow,” Stalin said, noting the delta farmers were protesting on Aadi Perukku, the day meant to celebrate the Cauvery’s flow.
He pointed out Cauvery water due to reach Tamil Nadu by June 12 has not arrived even in August, accusing the TVK government of “laziness” that has left farmers along the Cauvery banks “sink in sorrow”.
On the Mekedatu dam dispute, Stalin asked whether the Chief Minister had seen reports of Karnataka’s all-party meeting on the issue a day earlier, questioning why no similar meeting had been convened in Tamil Nadu even as the state’s Chief Minister was reportedly keen to hold talks with Karnataka that was “adamant” on building the dam.
He also criticised the government for diverting the agriculture budget towards Tirupathi while ignoring farmers, and for staying silent over the arrest of Tamil Nadu farmers in Nagpur.
State BJP president Nainar Nagenthran on Monday accused the Congress of politicising the Cauvery dispute and rejected allegations that the BJP-led central government had approved the proposed Mekedatu dam project in Karnataka.
Referring to Aadi Perukku, he said it was unfortunate that the Cauvery remained dry on a day when Tamils traditionally celebrate and worship waterbodies, blaming the Karnataka Congress government and its alliance partner, the TVK government in Tamil Nadu, for the situation.
Responding to criticism from Congress state president and MP Manickam Tagore, Nagenthran said there is no evidence to show the Centre had cleared the project.
He claimed since 2019, the Union government had refused to approve the project’s detailed report and had maintained it could not be considered without the approval of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), of which Tamil Nadu is a member.
Nagenthran said the Congress government in Karnataka had failed to release Tamil Nadu’s rightful share of Cauvery water despite the CWMA’s directions, adversely affecting farmers in the state.
He further said the Congress had historically used the Cauvery issue for political gain and had repeatedly compromised Tamil Nadu’s interests. “If the Congress genuinely wanted all parties to stand united on the dispute, it should focus on constructive efforts such as protests, negotiations and healthy discussions instead of engaging in a blame game,” he added.