State BJP president and Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa on Sunday alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had favoured Tamil Nadu by directing Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to that State.
Addressing State-level and district-level office-bearers of the party at a workshop on ‘Coal scam and failures of the UPA government’, Mr. Eshwarappa said Dr. Singh acted as “the agent of Tamil Nadu” by denying appointment to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and later meeting a Tamil Nadu delegation led by the former Union Minster T.R. Baalu to discuss the Cauvery water issue.
A delegation of BJP MPs from the State called on Dr. Singh and urged him to review the Cauvery River Authority’s (CRA) decision to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. But Dr. Singh told the delegation he had no powers to review the CRA’s decision, in an attempt to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Eshwarappa claimed.
‘Double standards’
Alleging that the State Congress had adopted double standards with regard to the Cauvery water issue, he said Union Ministers from Karnataka did not pressure the Prime Minister to review the CRA’s decision.
Congress leaders had nothing to say about the directive of the Supreme Court or the CRA’s decision, but they opposed the release of water to Tamil Nadu as directed by the apex court, the State BJP chief alleged.
Stating that the Congress would continue to be the Opposition party in the State after the next Assembly elections, Mr. Eshwarappa called upon BJP office-bearers to create awareness among the public about the “wrongdoings” of the UPA government at the Centre. Inflation, corruption and lack of governance had adversely affected the public, he said.
At the inaugural programme, BJP national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mr. Eshwarappa spoke at length on various issues but did not mention the name of the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. Though Mr. Prasad appreciated the State government’s achievements, he did not mention Mr. Yeddyurappa’s name.
The former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda was present.
