A delegation, led by Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam president Vijayakant, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday to raise the Mekedatu issue with him, but Mr. Modi was non-committal on their request to stall Karnataka’s move to build the dam.
The event, which set off speculation about Mr. Vijayakant trying to bring together parties opposed to the DMK, had a discordant note at the end. Some political leaders accompanying Mr. Vijayakant were unhappy that he and his wife and brother-in-law stayed back for a ‘private chat’ with the Prime Minister. They wondered if it was an ethical move on Mr. Vijayakant’s part. “After a 20-minute interaction, he stayed back with his wife Premalatha and brother-in-law L.K. Sudeesh to talk to Mr. Modi.
He should have avoided this, as it put the very purpose of the visit under a cloud,” said a leader who was part of the delegation.
When reporters asked him about his private interaction later, Mr. Vijayakant said it was a personal meeting and he need not divulge the details. Mr. Modi gave a patient hearing to the points on the dam issue, but did not spell out the Centre’s stand, according to delegation members.
He told the leaders that the allocation of Rs. 25 crore made by the Karnataka government was for a feasibility study and not for the dam’s construction.
“The Prime Minister said the issue was too sensitive, as decisions favouring one State could cause a huge problem in the other. He said that the Centre would go by the rules if Karnataka came with an application for environment clearance for the check dams,” a member said.
On the Sri Lankan Tamils question, “he [Prime Minister] said the situation in Sri Lanka has improved and is now conducive for finding a political solution. However, this cannot be done if parties in Tamil Nadu continue to play politics with the issue,” a leader said.
