A day after the Cauvery Monitoring Committee ordered the State to release 8.85 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu in October, Kannada Development Authority Chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru said the government must stick to its decision of not releasing Cauvery waters to the neighbouring state even if it is dismissed on charges of contempt of court.
Addressing presspersons here on Friday, the KDA chief urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is Chairman of the Cauvery River Authority, to review the decision to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu by convening CRA meeting as early as possible.
Legislators of all parties in the State should support the government’s decision to stop releasing water to Tamil Nadu. Issuing statements criticising the government on the Cauvery issue would not help the State, he said.
Mr. Chandru criticised Minister for Agriculture Umesh Katti’s statement on separate statehood for north Karnataka in the backdrop of opening of Suvarna Soudha (second secretariat) in Belgaum. Mr. Katti, who is also district in-charge minister for Belgaum, should not make such statements, he said.
The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was constructed to take the administration to the doorstep of the people in north Karnataka and not for dividing the State, the KDA chief said.
The inauguration of Survarna Vidhana Soudha by President Pranab Mukherjee has sent a strong message to Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti leaders that Belgaum is an integral part of Karnataka, Mr. Chandru added.
