Tamil Nadu CM seeks meeting with Karnataka counterpart

BENGALURU/CHENNAI: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is under pressure from neighbouring Tamil Nadu to release water from the disputed river Cauvery, an issue that could affect the Congress party’s prospects in the 88 seats in the Old Mysuru region.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswamy’s office has asked for an appointment with Siddaramaiah to pressure him to release more water to save their samba (rice) crop. About two weeks ago, Palaniswamy had written a formal letter on the same subject and Siddaramaiah had decisively said there was insufficient water in his state’s reservoirs to release any more.

Congress holds 40 of the 88 seats in Old Mysuru, where the main water source is the Cauvery. Their main rival in the region, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (S), has been insisting that only a regional party like theirs would protect state interests and that both the BJP and the Congress had to factor in national interests in the water wars.


“This pressure from Tamil Nadu, just two months before our Assembly elections, is quite suspicious. It seems like an attempt to show Siddaramaiah in a bad light. We suspect there might be a BJP hand from the Centre behind the TN moves,” a senior Congress leader and colleague of Siddaramaiah, who did not wish to be named, told ET. This is in the backdrop of reports that the BJP is intervening in the affairs of the crisis-hit ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu.

Senior Tamil Nadu minister D Jayakumar, who participated in the emergency meeting convened to discuss the delta region water crisis, told ET, "It is the responsibility of the government to represent farmers' anguish. Farmers are facing a crisis and they are protesting to ensure that Karnataka releases water in stages throughout the year, as agreed upon. The CM and all senior ministers have decided to demand what is our right from the Karnataka government and it is their (Karnataka government's) duty to give what is meant to be given to us. We have sought an appointment with the Karnataka chief minister and we hope they will give us what is rightfully ours."

The Cauvery issue is coming up for a final decision in the Supreme Court in the first half of February. Siddaramaiah is holding out on the release of water in line with the 2007 verdict, in the hope that Karnataka’s prospects improve. A negative decision will impact the Congress, help the JD(S) and also the BJP’s prospects in Tamil Nadu, another Congress leader in Karnataka pointed out.