The Karnataka government and the State unit of the Congress are in a dicey situation on the Cauvery issue, with the Union Law Ministry giving its stamp of approval to the draft of the notification on the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal which has been on hold for over five years since February 5, 2007.
Sources in the State Secretariat told The Hindu that the Karnataka legal team headed by Fali S. Nariman reportedly conveyed to the State government that nothing much could be done to prevent the final award of the CWDT being notified and should the government work against the observations of the Supreme Court, the legal team would withdraw from the cases pertaining to the Cauvery issue.
The Supreme Court has suggested to the Union government to notify the award at the earliest.
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The ball is now in the court of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – whether to yield to the demand of the State government, including that of the Union Minister’s from Karnataka or to that of the lower riparian State of Tamil NaduAn all-party team led by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is expected to call on the Prime Minister shortly.