PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Tuesday said the Tamil Nadu government should urge the Centre to take action against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who recently said that the Union government should grant permission for building a dam in Mekedatu across the Cauvery without asking any question.
In a statement, Mr. Ramadoss condemned Mr. Siddaramaiah’s comments that Tamil Nadu had no ground to oppose the construction of the dam and was unnecessarily causing trouble in this issue.
“It is wrong for Mr. Siddaramaiah to have commented against Tamil Nadu without even knowing the basics of the Constitution, federalism and the two-State water-sharing understanding,” he said.
He said Mr. Siddaramaiah had exhibited the “height of ignorance” by stating that Tamil Nadu should not raise an objection to Karnataka’s plan to construct a check-dam within the State.
‘Can’t ignore rights’
“Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are not two different countries; they are two States within one country. Therefore, Karnataka cannot act on its own. It can function only within the Constitutional framework. Even when it comes to rivers that flow from one country to another, they cannot construct dams as they wish. International agreements should be respected. Karnataka cannot ignore the rights of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
He said the Cauvery Water Sharing Agreement, signed in 1924 between Chennai Province and Mysore State, and the final verdict of the Cauvery Tribunal reiterated that Karnataka cannot build the dam without Tamil Nadu’s consent.
Besides, in 2015, the then Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharathi had said that if Tamil Nadu’s approval was not obtained, Karnataka’s application for the Mekedatu Dam would not be considered, Mr. Ramadoss added.
