Goa’s Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar on Thursday took on Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar over the Mahadayi river dispute issue, reiterating that he was firm on his resolve not to release any water to Karnataka ahead of the tribunal verdict.
After a delegation of Mahadayi Bachav Abhiyan (MBA) met him, Mr. Palienkar told presspersons, “I have made my stand very clear on Mahadayi river water. Once we take a stand on an issue, we do not change it.”
Mr. Palienkar’s comment is seen here as in defiance of the Chief Minister’s statement on Wednesday, when the latter said, “Those who believe that Karnataka can be denied water from the river were living in a fool’s paradise.”
Right from the beginning when the issue came into reckoning last month, the Minister, a member of the Goa Forward Party(GFP), a BJP-led ruling alliance partner, has been insisting that not a drop of water would be shared with Karnataka sans the tribunal verdict, claiming the river is a critical source of water.
Mr. Palienkar had earlier called Mr. Parrikar’s letter to Karnataka BJP leader and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa last month offering to consider Karnataka’s demand for drinking water on humanitarian grounds as a “political stunt”.
