The Cauvery crisis took a new turn on Monday with four MLAs and one MP from Mandya, belonging to the Janata Dal (Secular), submitting their resignations to the party’s State president H.D. Kumaraswamy.
They are said to have succumbed to pressure from G. Made Gowda, president, Mandya Zilla Raitha Hitarakshana Samiti (MZRHS), who is spearheading the agitation against the directive of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
Appeal
Mr. Made Gowda had called upon elected representatives in the district to resign for the cause and appealed to the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to seek their resignation.
N. Cheluvarayaswamy, MP from Mandya, and legislators Kalpana Siddaraju, C.S. Puttaraju, M. Srinivas and A.B. Ramesh Bandi Siddegowda, representing Maddur, Pandavapura, Mandya and Srirangapatna respectively, have handed their resignation letters to Mr. Kumaraswamy.
Speaking to presspersons Mr. Kumaraswamy admitted that they had given him their resignation letters following a demand from Mr. Made Gowda.
He said Mr. Deve Gowda was meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to urge him to send an official team to Karnataka to assess the ground realities. Handing over the resignation letters to the Speakers of the Parliament and the Assembly hinged on the outcome of this meeting. Asked whether he himself would quit, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he would take a decision depending on what transpired at a meeting of JD(S) legislators on Tuesday.
However, he said he doubted whether anything would be gained by quitting his post. “All legislators and MPs from the JD(S) are prepared to sacrifice their posts to protect State’s interest, but the resignation should not end up as a farce.”
He, however, was confident that Mr. Singh would review the decision of the CRA, considering water storage in reservoirs and drought in the State.
“The onus is now on Mr. Manmohan Singh to correct the injustice done to the State by sending an expert team to assess the situation,” he said.
