Tamil Nadu BJP and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) on Friday accused Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of adopting a lethargic attitude towards the Cauvery issue because of his party’s alliance with the Congress, which is the ruling party in Karnataka.
Reacting to Mr. Stalin’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to instruct the Karnataka government to release Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water, BJP State president K. Annamalai said this was the reality of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), of which the DMK and the Congress are a part. He said the DMK was reaching out to Mr. Modi to complain about its alliance partners.
“The grim scenario faced by the farmers today [in Tamil Nadu] has much to do with the corrupt DMK government’s pledging of the interests of the people of TN for their political gains,” he alleged in a social media post.
TMC president G.K. Vasan alleged that the Karnataka government was continuing its efforts to construct the dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu despite not obtaining clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He said it was shocking to see reports in the media that the Karnataka government had appointed forest officials to conduct a survey of land for the dam.
He said the DMK should not adopt a lethargic attitude on the issue because of its alliance with the Congress. He said the Karnataka government had released only 11 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu last month, against the stipulated 40 tmcft. He urged the Tamil Nadu government to act swiftly to protect the interests of farmers.
