A blame game has begun in Karnataka among major political parties after the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) rejected Karnataka’s interim petition seeking 7 tmcft of water for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project on Wednesday.
While the BJP and the JD(S) held the Congress responsible for the hurdles in resolving the decade-old Mahadayi river waters dispute, the ruling party found fault with Prime Minister Narendara Modi for not taking an interest in resolving the water dispute outside court, which could pave the way for the implementation of the project.
The issue echoed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, when Suresh Angadi, BJP MP, and Prakash Hukkeri, Congress MP, indulged in a verbal duel over the issue. While Mr. Angadi tried to pin the blame on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s statement in Goa in 2006, when she allegedly declared that the Mahadayi waters cannot be shared with Karnataka, Mr. Hukkeri rebutted the charge saying Mr. Modi had not responded to the State’s plea and refrained from holding tripartite talks to resolve the dispute.
In Bengaluru, Kona Reddy (JD-S) and V.S. Ugrappa (Congress) accused the NDA government for the present imbroglio. Mr. Reddy maintained that Additional Solicitor General Athmananda Nadkarni argued in favour of Goa, giving the impression that the Centre was in favour of safeguarding the interests of Goa. Moreover, the State was unlikely to get justice till Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who hails from Goa, continues to be in the Modi Ministry, he added.
Basavaraj Bommai (BJP), on the other hand, termed the MWDT’s verdict as “unfortunate”. Mr. Bommai demanded that the government immediately file a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court to seek “natural justice” to the people of north Karnataka. The verdict had gone against the State owing to “delays” by the Tribunal and “lack of preparedness” by the State’s legal team, he alleged. In 2002, the NDA government had agreed, in principle, to resolve the dispute amicably, but it had been kept in abeyance because the Congress in Goa opposed it, he said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought Mr. Modi’s intervention for an amicable settlement. Mr. Ugrappa said the Opposition should refrain from “politicising” the issue. Obliquely expressing dissatisfaction on the manner in which the case was presented before the Tribunal by senior counsel Fali Nariman, he said Karnataka had suffered setbacks with regard to inter-State water disputes in the past too. Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker K.B. Koliwad appealed to all political parties to shed their egos and collectively fight for ensuring justice to the people of north Karnataka.
