The decision of the State government to defer the release of water till talks with Tamil Nadu conclude was taken after suggestions, amongst others, by three Union Ministers from Karnataka — Ananth Kumar, D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Ramesh Jigajinagi — at the all-party meeting here on Wednesday.
It is also learnt that during the meeting, some senior Congress leaders and legal experts suggested to the government that it “could consider” releasing some quantum of water to Tamil Nadu to demonstrate Karnataka’s willingness to share water with the neighbouring State even during a “severe distress” period.
This suggestion was made especially as storage levels in reservoirs in the State have improved when compared with the situation a week ago.
However, politically, the State government would be keen to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Union government are “seen as being equally responsible and complicit” in any such decision, said sources.
For the moment, all political parties in the State, including the Congress, have publicly asked the State government to remain firm on the resolution passed by the State legislature.
‘Go by the resolution’
Leaders of the BJP, including State unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa, and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, who attended the all-party meet, suggested to the government to “strictly go by the resolution passed by the State legislature”.
But the government is also keen to avoid a “full-blown confrontation” with the judiciary and hopes that the talks could evolve a solution, said senior leaders.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil, Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav, the Water Resources Department Secretary, and the Water Resources Department Chief Engineer would attend the meeting in Delhi at 11.30 a.m. and present the grim reality in the basin areas, sources said.
Asked whether the State government would face a contempt of court by not releasing water, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “There is a direction by the legislature and we go by the direction of the legislature.”
The State legal team submitted a copy of the resolution along with its petition to the Supreme Court on Monday and expressed its inability to release water to Tamil Nadu.
