Amid ongoing protests in Karnataka against releasing Cauvery water for Tamil Nadu, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya on Friday lambasted the Congress government for its "very casual" approach to the issue.
The MP from Bengaluru South alleged that the Congress is approaching the issue in a "duplicitous manner" to help its INDIA bloc partner, DMK in Tamil Nadu.
“There is no coordination between the CM and the deputy CM. The state government is very casual in its approach. Are they trying to approach this issue in this duplicitous manner because it will help their INDI alliance partner, the DMK government for 2024?” he asked.
"The state government is releasing Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu. If Cauvery River water is going to Tamil Nadu like this, the people of Bengaluru will not have drinking water. The Karnataka government has failed to present its case before CWMA (Cauvery Water Management Authority),” Surya said while speaking to ANI in Bengaluru.
He said that releasing additional water to Tamil Nadu would severely compromise Karnataka’s drinking water needs. The BJP MP said this "very grim reality" needs to be presented before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
"The Water situation in Karnataka is extremely grim. The state has suffered a 60 per cent deficit in rainfall this year. The state needs about 106 TMC of water, it has only 50 TMC of water. Out of the 34 talukas in the Cauvery basin, 32 are declared a severe drought hit. Farmers do not have water to support their one-standing crop. In this scenario, releasing additional water to Tamil Nadu will severely compromise the state's drinking water needs,” the BJP MP told ANI.
Surya further said, “Cauvery is a national asset. Karnataka should not suffer injustice because another state is not sharing distress. There is a rainfall deficit here. When you are sharing surplus, you must also come forward to share distress. This is the argument of Karnataka made before the Cauvery Water Management Authority and I don't find anything unreasonable in the position."
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said that the state will appeal to the Supreme Court to order the release of 5000 cusecs of water.
"We will again demand the release of 5000 cusecs of water from Karnataka...We will appeal to the Supreme Court and they will direct the Karnataka government,” Duraimurugan said while speaking to reporters in Chennai.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier expressed his disappointment on the recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) which has directed Karnataka to ensure the release of 3000 cusecs of Cauvery water at Biligundlu starting from September 28 up to October 15, 2023.
READ | ‘Bengaluru will run out of drinking water soon,’ says MP Tejasvi Surya
“Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) ordered to release 3000 cusecs of water, I have already spoken to our advocates. They have suggested us to challenge this order in the Supreme Court. We will challenge it in the Supreme Court. We don't have water to release to Tamil Nadu. We are challenging the orders of the CWRC,” CM Siddaramaiah had said.
Farmer unions and pro-Kannada organisations have called for a Karnataka Bandh today after the Cauvery Regulatory Committee (CWRC) ordered to release of 3000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
Many protestors were seen raising slogans that the Cauvery River belongs to them.
The matter has been a controversial issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for decades and they have been locked in battle over the sharing of water from the Cauvery river, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for millions of people in the region.
The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry with respect to the water-sharing capacities.