Won’t yield on Cauvery rights, Mekedatu; open to talks: Vijay

Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday said he was prepared to face insults and even bear humiliation if necessary while travelling to neighbouring Karnataka to meet his counterpart DK Shivakumar over the Mekedatu dam issue

Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday said he was prepared to face insults and even bear humiliation if necessary while travelling to neighbouring Karnataka to meet his counterpart DK Shivakumar over the Mekedatu dam issue.

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Making his first statement on the Cauvery dispute in the Assembly, Vijay said his ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had no intention of playing politics over the issue.

“On the Cauvery issue, some members have asked for details. Cauvery is our lifeline, it is an emotional issue for us,” he said, amid thumping of desks by TVK MLAs.

Vijay recalled that the Tamil Nadu Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in June and sent it directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that after learning that the Union minister of state for Jal Shakti had not provided full details regarding the proposed dam, the state government wrote to the Prime Minister the next day, citing provisions of the Cauvery Tribunal’s final verdict and the Supreme Court’s final verdict.

The letter stated that no legal or administrative approval should be granted for construction of the Mekedatu dam.

Vijay said his government would not compromise on Tamil Nadu’s rights, either on Cauvery water sharing or on stopping construction of the Mekedatu dam.

“That is our clear stand,” Vijay said.

Recalling a similar discussion in the Assembly in 1969, Vijay sought to know who was the water resources minister at the time — an apparent reference to late DMK president M Karunanidhi. However, he said he did not want to engage in “cheap politics” by questioning why the government then had allowed the construction of the dam.

“Since it is Cauvery issue, we must handle it carefully. I want to recall this in 1969, leaders spoke in this House saying both concerned states and the Union government should sit down and take a decision regarding Cauvery. As we all know, the situation changed after that,” he said.

Vijay said his government was firm on pursuing the matter legally, adding that his proposed visit to Bengaluru was an attempt to explore whether dialogue could help resolve the dispute.

“When I thought about such a visit to Bengaluru and asked around, many opinions came up. But it was out of good intention, hoping that if we could get a positive sign to resolve this issue, it would be good,” Vijay said.

“In today’s times, even enemy nations try to resolve issues through dialogue; so I thought, why not talk to a neighbouring state and see? That is why we tried to make such an attempt.”

Responding to concerns that he could face an insult during such a visit, Vijay said he was prepared to bear it for the people of Tamil Nadu.

“If that happened, I was prepared to bear even that for the people of Tamil Nadu. Nevertheless, my thanks to everyone who showed affection toward us,” he said.

Vijay also said his government had already sanctioned relief for Kuruvai cultivation, responding to a point raised by opposition leader Udhayanidhi Stalin.

“I do not understand how those who claim to be all knowing in politics did not come to know about this. If they had read newspaper, now and then, they would have known what is happening in the State,” Vijay said.

Earlier, Udhayanidhi Stalin sought a special adjournment motion before Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar, demanding that the TVK government address the distress faced by Tamil Nadu farmers.

He cited four reasons: the government’s action to prevent Karnataka from constructing the Mekedatu dam; the partial farm loan waiver despite an election promise of a full waiver; compensation for farmers who lost Kuruvai crops due to the non-arrival of Cauvery water; and declaring the Delta districts drought-affected and providing relief.

Udhayanidhi said that since the TVK government was formed in May, Karnataka had been pursuing the Mekedatu project “with a speed never seen before”.

He also pointed out that political parties in Karnataka had remained united on the issue despite their differences and demanded that the TVK government convene an all-party meeting.

On the Kuruvai relief package, Udhayanidhi said the ₹134 crore package announced by the government was a standard package and that farmers were seeking drought relief.

“the special package you provided to farmers is ₹134 crore which is a standard special package provided. Now, the farmers are asking for drought relief funds, one must understand the difference between these two,” he said.

Responding to him, revenue and disaster management minister K A Sengottaiyan said, “it is customary to inspect until the end of September and only then we can undertake drought relief operations.”