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Stalin must get Karnataka word on Mekedatu: BJP
Before DMK’s ally Congress formed the government in Karnataka in May, the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP had opposed Mekedatu dam even as their party was governing in Karnataka
Chennai:
Ahead of chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin’s participation in the Bengaluru meeting of opposition leaders, Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Sunday that Stalin and state Congress chief K S Alagiri have to come back from the meeting with an assurance that Karnataka will not construct the Mekedatu dam.
“Let Stalin and Alagiri go and firmly say that we will not allow Mekedatu to be constructed and finalise that Karnataka will not build it,” said Pon Radhakrishnan, former chief of the state BJP unit. “And then you can solve whatever problems you all have amongst yourselves in your (opposition) meeting. You are going to say zindabad for your own interests. While you are at it, also say zindabad for Tamil Nadu.”
Before DMK’s ally Congress formed the government in Karnataka in May, the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP had opposed Mekedatu dam even as their party was governing in Karnataka. The issue flared up again recently after Karnataka water resources minister D K Shivakumar said in June that they will go ahead with the controversial Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project which is proposed to generate 400 MW of power and additionally supply 4.75 tmcft of water for drinking and domestic needs in Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru.
BJP’s state president K Annamalai had at that time warned of a protest if Stalin attends the Bengaluru meeting given the Congress-led Karnataka’s stand to build the Mekedatu dam at the Cauvery river which is against the interests of Tamil Nadu.
While Karnataka awaits central clearances to start construction, Tamil Nadu, as the lower riparian state, has argued that it’s against federal principles for Karnataka, the upper riparian state, to go ahead without its consent. Stating that the dam would impound and divert uncontrolled flows from the intermediate catchment below the Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs, and Billigundulu which is a common border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the state believes it would affect its agrarian community.
A senior DMK leader cited Stalin and water resources minister Durai Murugan’s assertion in response to Shivakumar that Tamil Nadu will not allow Mekedatu. “We have repeatedly clarified our stance even to our ally Congress that we will not allow it,” the leader said. “The BJP is now afraid about the unity among non-BJP leaders and our leader (Stalin) is playing a very important part to defeat them (BJP) in the 2024 elections.”
The Bengaluru meeting is the second among opposition parties across India after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar held the first meeting in Patna on June 23.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s ally AIADMK alleged that Stalin’s only jobs seems to be either erecting statues of his father late M Karunanidhi or naming monuments after his father. On July 16, Stalin had inaugurated the Kalaignar (meaning artiste is how Karunanidhi is revered) Centenary Library in Madurai at a cost of ₹218 crore.
The library could have been named after Thiruvalluvar or other Tamil philosophers, the AIADMK said on Sunday, also hoping that the Supreme Court gives a verdict against the pen memorial planned for Karunanidhi in the ocean on the Marina beach in Chennai.
“Let the DMK use their own money to erect a pen monument for their leader inside their party office. Why dump ₹80-crore into the ocean for the monument when that money can be directed for the development of Chennai,” said AIADMK spokesperson D Jayakumar. He was speaking after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami held a meeting with senior leaders in Chennai.
“The meeting was to discuss the party’s plan for the mega conference we are holding in Madurai on August 20,” said a leader who participated in the meeting, not wishing to be named. Two days ago Palaniswami wrote a letter to the party cadre accusing the DMK of working only for their family welfare. “I want you all to make the Madurai conference a turning point for our party,” he had said.
In line with Palaniswami’s letter, Jayakumar on Sunday said, “The only thing happening across Tamil Nadu is that Karunanidhi’s statue is coming up here and there. Stalin is doing only this job as a chief minister. His second job is corruption with an intention to help only his family grow.”
The DMK leader quoted above dismissed AIADMK’s allegations. “We got CRZ clearance last month for the pen monument and the case is in the Supreme Court now,” he said. “We have addressed environmental concerns in our affidavit. Let’s wait for the outcome.”
