Tamil Nadu, Karnataka MPs in a war of words over Cauvery water-sharing

NEW DELHI: Members of Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were involved in heated exchanges today over the issue of Cauvery water sharing, a subject which has been a bone of contention between the two states.

As soon as the extended Zero Hour dedicated to the issue of farmers suicide ended, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed AIADMK leader P Venugopal to raise the issue.

Venugopal claimed that Karnataka was building two reservoirs on river Cauvery and said the move was against the final award of the Cauvery River Water Dispute Tribunal.

Some Congress members from Karnataka objected to Venugopal's remarks but they were shouted down by AIADMK members.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who hails from Karnataka, and BJP MP from the state Shobha Karandlaje also opposed the AIADMK's claim.

The AIADMK members later trooped into the Well protesting the reported move by Karnataka.

During the din, Bishnupada Ray (BJP) literally shouted to grab the Chair's attention to raise the demand for a state assembly in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Asserting that the Lok Sabha was the only place where he could raise his issues, he said the islands were a union territory and there was no state assembly where people's issues could be raised.

He claimed that the local administration was forcing hawkers to remove their stalls. While in Delhi, illegal occupants were being made authorised occupants, in his constituency hawkers doing business in some areas for yesrs were being forced out by bureaucrats who were running the administration, Ray said.