Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who has been at the receiving end of the Opposition’s ire for being ‘conciliatory’ towards the BJP-led government at the Centre, on Saturday found fault with the Union government over the Cauvery issue.
In a statement, he said the Central government could have sought clarifications from the Supreme Court immediately after the verdict was delivered on February 16. The Centre’s petition [seeking clarification from the Supreme Court] was against the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s final order of February 2007, which envisaged the creation of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), as well as the Supreme Court’s judgment, Mr. Palaniswami said, adding that the Centre’s petition was filed after the six-week deadline stipulated by the court for framing a scheme had lapsed.
According to the Chief Minister, the Central government’s application was filed after the Tamil Nadu government moved the court with a contempt petition.
Mr. Palaniswami said he had advised the lawyers of the State government to oppose the Centre’s petition at the admission stage; place “strong arguments” before the court for directing the Union government to establish the CMB and the CWRC immediately; and urge the bench led by the Chief Justice of India to take up the State government’s contempt petition expeditiously.
The Chief Minister also accused the DMK of “not having made an iota of effort” to get the tribunal’s final order notified in the gazette of the Union government despite being in power both at the Centre and in the State.
Speaking to The Hindu , Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar termed the Centre’s clarification petition as unacceptable and said the State government would “vigorously oppose it”.
Ready to resign: MP
Member of Parliament representing Coimbatore A.P. Nagarajan has said that he is ready to resign his post to support the cause of people pressing the Centre to constitute the CMB.
The MP told reporters here on Saturday that the Cauvery issue was one that concerned the people of the entire State and not just the delta districts. “If Cauvery river goes dry, Tamil Nadu will face severe shortage of food and be on a par with the least developed parts of the world,” he warned.
If the board is not constituted now, it would never be formed in the future, he said.
