The members of the DMK and the AIADMK on Thursday locked horns in the Lok Sabha on the issue of alleged suicide of seven farmers in the delta region due to withering of crops as they were not getting Cauvery water for irrigation from Karnataka.
Raising the issue during the zero hour, DMK parliamentary party leader T.R. Baalu alleged that more than seven farmers had committed suicide due to withering of crops as there was no Cauvery water.
While DMK president M. Karunanidhi had announced Rs. 50,000 to each of the family (of the victims), the Tamil Nadu government had not come forward to help them, he charged.
At this juncture, AIADMK parliamentary party leader M. Thambidurai intervened and said Mr. Baalu was giving a wrong statement. “He is misleading the House and giving false information regarding farmers in Tamil Nadu”.
As Mr. Baalu started reading out names of the farmers allegedly committed suicide, the AIADMK members strongly protested, leading to disruption and pandemonium in the House. Both the party MPs came to the well of the House.
The DMK MP charged that the Tamil Nadu government was providing lukewarm response to the incident.
But the AIADMK leader claimed that were no suicide of farmers due to withering crops, as alleged. The State government was providing all the facilities to the farmers, including distribution of free rice and special relief packages.
At one point, BJP MP from Bangalore H.N. Ananth Kumar strongly protested against the Tamil Nadu MPs’ charge against Karnataka on the Cauvery issue and said his State itself was facing severe crisis due to shortage of water.
Meanwhile, Cuddalore Congress MP K.S. Alagiri has asked Union Water Resource Minister Harish Rawat to immediately notify the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to save the withering crops and stop farmers’ death.
The situation could be saved only if the award was notified as it would be binding on Karnataka to release to TN its due share of Cauvery water, he said in a letter to the minister.
