The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will stage a fast in Tamil Nadu on Monday to urge the Centre to immediately constitute the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee as per the Supreme Court order, Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK Coordinator O. Panneerselvam announced here on Friday.
Speaking at an event to conduct marriage for 120 couples organised by party’s Amma Peravai, Mr. Panneerselvam said the hunger strike will demonstrate the commitment of the AIADMK government in protecting Tamil Nadu’s rights and will have a huge impact on the country and the Union government.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami criticised DMK’s allegations that the Tamil Nadu government was not adequately pressurising the Union government on the issue. “For one State’s (Tamil Nadu) issue, the recent session of Parliament was stalled for 17 days because of the protests by our party MPs,” he said.
He also pointed out that though the final award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) came out in 2007, the DMK, which was then part of the Congress-led government at the Centre, failed to get it notified in the gazette.
Legal battle
“For DMK, the priority was family and the portfolios they could get in the Union cabinet,” he alleged, adding that it was late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who initiated a legal battle and got the award eventually notified in 2013.
Responding to a question on whether the State government will initiate contempt proceedings against the Centre for failing to constitute CMB within the Supreme Court-imposed six-week deadline that ended on Thursday, he said the matter will be decided after consulting legal experts.
The Chief Minister clarified that the Opposition parties were not invited to join the fast since the DMK did not bother to consult them to raise an united voice on the issue.
PTI adds:
Meanwhile, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai that the Tamil Nadu government will move the Supreme Court on the issue of constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB).
The Minister, however, declined to spell out what kind of petition the government will move.
“We are going to approach the Supreme Court...the government is holding discussions... I cannot reveal (the nature of petition) since it is a policy decision,” he said.
