The Union government should not yield to the demand by Telangana for redistribution of Krishna waters by a new river water disputes resolution tribunal, Congress leader and former Irrigation Minister H.K. Patil said in Hubballi on Thursday.
The Centre seems to be taking a soft stand towards Telangana in the matter. This is not a positive development. This could lead to very serious negative implications for Karnataka. The Centre should take a stern stand against the demand by Telangana and not allow the issue to be raised before a fresh tribunal, he told journalists.
‘Clarify stand’
He urged the Centre to clarify its stand on the issue. He demanded that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa take a delegation to the Centre asking it to reject Telangana’s demad.
Floods
Mr. Patil criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government for failing to protect the interests of Karnataka in several issues, including responding to natural calamities in the State.
“Since last year, Karnataka has suffered several calamities. Hundreds of rural families have lost their bread winners, farmers have lost crops and cattle and houses of countless poor families have collapsed. The State has suffered losses of more than ₹ 40,000 crore last year, while this year’s losses are yet to be calculated. I believe crops over 10 lakh hectares have been damaged and the losses add up to ₹ 35,000-₹ 40,000 crore. People are suffering due to the unprecedented rainfall and water release from dams. But the Centre’s response has been discouraging. They have given only a fraction of what the State asked for. Mr. Modi should release adequate compensation to Karnataka,” he said.
He faulted the State government for what he called callous attitude towards floods in North Karnataka. Officers are negligent towards their duty of establishing relief centres and caring for people lodged there. In several flood-hit villages, officers are yet to open relief centres. This should stop. Mr. Yediyurappa should issue a strict warning to officers and see that they carry out flood relief operations in a proper manner.
Polls
He said that the Congress was poised to win all the six Legislative Council seats as people were upset with the BJP that had not fulfilled any of its promises.
“I am travelling with other Congress leaders to collect the opinion of graduates and other enlightened citizens. I see that most of them are disappointed. They feel betrayed by Mr. Modi on his poll-time promises that he never kept. They are asking what happened to the promise of creation of two crore jobs and reducing corruption. People feel bad about voting for the BJP and want to support the Congress in the coming polls,” he said. He said that the power struggles in the State BJP was also a cause of concern for the people.
