INDIA bloc partners DMK, Congress just scoring points over Cauvery dispute: BJP

The BJP has termed the latest dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery water dispute as "theatrics" by the two governments without solving the issue. BJP Karnataka leader CT Ravi, who is also the party in-charge of Tamil Nadu, told ET that both the Congress and DMK are just trying to score points without any intention to resolve the issue.

"Karnataka has a Congress government and DMK is in power in TN. Both are part of the INDIA bloc. Why can't they sit together and resolve the issue? They are just indulging in theatrics and trying to divert the attention by visiting Delhi and meeting Union ministers. There is no real intent to solve this," Ravi told ET.

Karnataka has received less rains this season and the state government has claimed that it is facing a drought-like situation. The state government said that it cannot release water from Cauvery for Tamil Nadu as it needs to fulfill its own demand. The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), the body which handles the water dispute between the two states, has asked Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs of Cauvery Water to Tamil Nadu till September 26.


With Karnataka refusing to give water to Tamil Nadu, the fight has now reached Delhi. On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu water resources minister D Murugan met Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Shekhawat and complained that Karnataka is not releasing the water as per the CWMA instructions.

"I met the jal shakti minister so many times. It is a formality. We are only going to get justice from the Supreme Court," Murugan told media persons in Chennai on Wednesday. "The problem is not releasing the water as per the Supreme Court order. We have been requesting the Supreme Court and the government to implement it," he said.

On Wednesday, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting in the national capital with all Union ministers from Karnataka and MPs from all the parties to take everyone on board in protecting the interest of the state. Among the attendees were deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, Union ministers Prahlad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje, Bhagwant Khooba, Narayanaswamy and Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy, who is coming to Delhi on Thursday to discuss the seat sharing with the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections, has said that apart from the seat sharing, he would also raise the issue of Cauvery water with the BJP's central leadership. He said the Karnataka government should be firm on not releasing water to TN.