Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar during the all-party meeting to discuss the issue of releasing Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
A war of words ensued on Tuesday between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP leaders over the Cauvery water sharing dispute with Tamil Nadu, even as both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy D K Shivakumar are headed to New Delhi for a special meeting in this regard with union ministers, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs.
Questioning the government's actions in releasing water to Tamil Nadu, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai asked if there was any use in approaching the Supreme Court with an appeal when the government was already abiding by the Cauvery Water Management Authority's directions and releasing water.
The government is putting the farmers and the public in a quandary with its actions, he alleged, questioning why the government was releasing water against the state's interest.
"My suggestions are in the interest of the state but the government is not ready to take our suggestions. The advocates will always give suggestions to release water but our government never released water stealthily," he charged. He also dismissed the idea of taking an all party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It is irrelevant now and is only an act of misleading people," he further said.
Meanwhile, D K Shivakumar shot back at the senior BJP leader. "We have documents about the extent of water released during Bommai's tenure." He said if the Supreme Court questioned the state about flouting the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee's directions, the state would lose face. He said Bommai must put politics aside and build pressure on the PM to intervene in the matter.