BJP leader and convenor of Uttar Karnataka Vikas Vedike Ashok Pujari took a dig at the advocates representing Karnataka for not being able to protect the State’s interests in the light of the Supreme Court directing Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
In a release issued here on Tuesday, he said the order of the Apex Court had come at a time when the people in the upper Cauvery basin districts of Mandya, Mysuru and Tumkuru were facing shortage of water due to insufficient rainfall. The protests against the Supreme Court verdict by farmers and members of various pro-Kannada organisations were just an expression of their hurt feelings, he claimed.
He charged that the advocates representing Karnataka also failed to argue before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal, which resulted in an adverse verdict for the state. Similar is the case with the Cauvery verdict.
The failure of the advocates also reflected the failure of the government to defend its case properly before the apex court in respect of Cauvery water and sharing of Mahadayi water, Mr. Pujari said.