CHENNAI: A day after D K Shivakumar’s renewed call for Mekedatu dam across Cauvery river in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mysuru, the grand old party’s Tamil Nadu unit president, Manickam Tagore, criticised the Karnataka chief minister, saying his statement could affect the cordial relations between the states. He also criticised Modi, saying the PM’s silence has caused apprehension and suspicion.
Claiming that only the prime minister could prevent the construction of the dam, Tagore asked Modi not to betray Tamil Nadu and act fairly towards the state. He also urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to take legal steps to prevent the construction of the reservoir.
Referring to Shivakumar’s statement on Friday claiming that the Supreme Court had allowed Karnataka to build the dam and that nobody could stop the project, Tagore, whose party is a TVK ally, added all the Karnataka chief ministers— whether it’s H D Deve Gowda, BS Yediyurappa, H D Kumaraswamy or the incumbent Shivakumar—have the same opinion that water should not be released to Tamil Nadu. There, however, is no similar unity among the political parties in Tamil Nadu, he said.
Tagore reiterated that the Congress TN unit’s stand is clear. As TN is a lower riparian state, Karnataka could not construct the dam without the state’s consent, he said.
Leaders of several other political parties in Tamil Nadu also joined Tagore in criticising Shivakumar’s statement.
DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin urged Vijay to convene an all party meeting and arrange a meeting of the leaders of various parties and MPs with PM Modi.
MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict had not given Karnataka permission to build the dam.
BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran reiterated his party’s opposition to the project and asked Vijay to take Tagore to Delhi to seek Rahul Gandhi’s intervention.
Meanwhile, the VCK, another TVK ally, in a resolution adopted at a meeting of its regional and state-level election committee functionaries on Friday, urged the government to take up the issue with the centre and initiate all steps to prevent Karnataka from proceeding with the project without Tamil Nadu’s consent.
Former industries minister T R B Rajaa of the DMK questioned the Congress’s stand on the issue, accusing the party of taking contrasting positions in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
He asked Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether the Congress would protect Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery water rights or support the Karnataka government’s project.