Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said a decision regarding declaring drought-hit taluks will be taken at the next Cabinet meeting.
While 62 taluks fall under the norms required for their declaration as drought-hit, the government has sought a report from 136 more such taluks. So, a total of 192 taluks could qualify for being declared as drought-hit, the Chief Minister told mediapersons in Mysuru.
Fielding queries on the Cauvery dispute, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the State government was not pleased over the release of water to Tamil Nadu. The State government was committed to protecting the rights of Karnataka’s farmers and ensuring the drinking water requirements of people in Mysuru, Bengaluru and other areas of the State.
The State had released water to Tamil Nadu only because of the directions issued by the Cauvery Water Management Authority. However, the State will argue against the release of water before the Supreme Court on September 21 and before the Authority on September 12, he said.
Assuring that the State government will not compromise the interests of its farmers for the sake of power, Mr. Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP, which had accused the Congress government of failing to protect the State’s interests, by asking why none of its 25 MPs were raising the issue in the Parliament.
He said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an audience for an all-party meeting to discuss the Cauvery issue, but had not received a reply yet.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also described as “practically not possible” to implement the One Nation One Election proposal of the BJP government at the Centre.
He wondered how the Karnataka Assembly, which was recently constituted, can be dissolved at the time of the coming Lok Sabha elections. He also wondered if the President’s rule can be imposed in States where the tenure of the Assemblies expires two, three or even four years before the time the Lok Sabha elections become due.
He claimed that the BJP had become “frustrated” after its rout in the Assembly elections in Karnataka. He said Mr. Modi hoped for changing the people’s mind with road shows and public meetings. But, the Congress won by huge margins in areas where Mr. Modi went, he claimed.
