MYSURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that during the meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde, he would make his stand clear on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute.
He told media persons that he will clarify his government’s stand before the Union home secretary by elaborating on the States Reorganisation Act and other process.
“I will share the developments that have taken place after the States Reorganisation Act, and the case before the Supreme Court. I will also elaborate on the provisions of the Constitution and petition about the dispute,” he said.
Responding to a question, Bommai took a jibe at Congress leaders and said that the Grand Old Party must be blamed for failing to protect the interest of the state in the Mahadayi water dispute. “The then Congress president Sonia Gandhi during a pre-election meeting in Goa had stated she would not allow a single drop of Mahadayi river water to be diverted. However, the party leaders are now talking about the issue for political mileage,” he said.
He also blamed Congress for the confusion over the decision to hike SC/ST reservation in Karnataka. “Fearing that they would lose SC/ST votes, Congress raked up the issue by raising a question in the Rajya Sabha to alter the reservation scheme,” he said.
Although the meeting is about the border dispute, Bommai said that he will be prepared to discuss cabinet expansion, if the scope arises. Meanwhile, the CM also said he had asked the Agriculture Department officials to conduct a survey of crop damage in Karnataka due to Cyclone Mandous.