Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda on Saturday said that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can resolve the Cauvery water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Deve Gowda lamented that Karnataka has been facing “continued injustice” in the Cauvery row. “Only Mr. Modi, who is set to become Prime Minister again, can solve the problem. I will fight for Karnataka’s right in the Cauvery issue till my last breath,” he said.
Too few MPs
“Every year, Tamil Nadu submits an application to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) for the release of Cauvery water. Even if we (Karnataka) do not have water, the CWMA asks us to give water. This is a death sentence to the State. No matter what our officials argued, it has been of no avail. Tamil Nadu is politically strong with 40 MPs and has power. We have only 28 MPs,” Mr. Deve Gowda said.
Expressing regret that the CWMA has never visited Karnataka to see how much water is available in the Cauvery reservoirs, he said: “Cauvery water dispute has a solution. We should fight together to make Mr. Modi aware of the injustice done to us. There should be no politics in this. All political parties should fight together for this cause.”
“I will be in the Rajya Sabha for another two-and-a half years. I will go to Delhi and attend the Rajya Sabha session. I will raise the Cauvery issue in the session and fight for this cause till my last breath,” Mr. Deve Gowda said.
Stating that he has already requested the Prime Minister’s intervention in the Cauvery issue, he said: “I have brought to Mr. Modi’s attention every aspect of the injustice done to Karnataka in this issue. However, he (Mr. Modi) cannot do everything immediately. We all have to struggle for this.”
On standing committee
Pointing out that he along with D.K. Suresh and Shivakumar Udasi attended the meeting of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry’s parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources, Mr. Deve Gowda said: “We also discussed hydro-power generation and drinking water. We have convinced the committee about the injustice caused to the farmers in 10 districts of Cauvery basin, including Kodagu.”
“Our State got ₹8,000 crore from the Centre for the projects of Krishna basin. However, no funds have been received for the Cauvery basin projects. We brought this to the attention of the committee so that it can be conveyed to the Centre,” he said.
