Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya.
Credit: DH Photo
Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya has written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to meet with his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah and resolve the Cauvery crisis amicably, without knocking on court doors.
In his letter dated September 16, Singh has written to Stalin stating that Tamil Nadu should realise that Karnataka is not holding back water deliberately. “It is just that the reservoirs are empty and there is drought in nearly 70 per cent of the taluks in the state. Also, there is drinking water crisis emerging,” he said. This comes at a time when the BJP is criticising the ruling Congress alleging laxity in dealing with the Cauvery issue.
"I urge Tamil Nadu to realise that Karnataka’s water needs include that of lakhs of Tamil speakers who work and live in Karnataka," he said, emphasising that we lived in a society where inter-state migration for employment purposes was widely prevalent. Water rights debates have to take this into account, he pointed out.
The best solution for this crisis is for both states to share available water equitably.
This can happen only if the two CMs meet, he opined. "More can be achieved by meeting than by seeking the help of the Centre or courts. The two states should break the old cycle of seeing the sharing of Cauvery water as a regional conflict and major dispute," he wrote, adding that this should be viewed as a humanitarian crisis and not as political rhetoric.