Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday rejected the demand of the Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu for an all-party meet to discuss impediments in establishing the Cauvery Management Board, stating that she was hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would act impartially on the matter.
Referring to the demand of DMK president M. Karunanidhi and others, the Chief Minister, in a statement, said all parties in the State were in united in demanding the early establishment of the Board by the Centre and they were strong in their position. That being the case, there was no point in calling for a separate all party meet.
Mr. Modi wanted to have a friendly, good relationship with Tamil Nadu. He had assured her as much when she called on him in New Delhi on June 3.
When the Prime Minister himself was inclined to help the genuine cause of Tamil Nadu, it was reasonable that the Centre be given some time to address the issue, she said.
“We, the State Government, are hopeful that the Prime Minister would act impartially. The Centre must be given some time. When it is hardly a week since I have met the Prime Minister and discussed the issue with him, what is the urgency for Mr. Karunanidhi?’’ she wondered.
Blames DMKMs. Jayalalithaa claimed that the former Chief Minister did little while in power to get the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal notified in the gazette. But counselling her to call for an all party meet after receiving a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections was like putting the cart before the horse and people of the State were not gullible, she said.
Ms. Jayalalithaa also recalled that she had unflinchingly taken efforts to ensure that Tamil Nadu got its due share of Cauvery water.
The Chief Minister pointed out that neither the Prime Minister nor the Union Minister concerned had given any statement inimical to the interests of Tamil Nadu.
It was only Union Minister Ananth Kumar, hailing from Karnataka, who reacted against the move to form the Cauvery Management Board.
The constitution of the Board flows out of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Ms. Jayalalithaa said, adding the Centre needed to be given some time for taking steps.
