Will wait till March 29 for CMB, says OPS

Dismisses Stalin’s suggestion on voting against BJP govt.

Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Monday rejected Opposition leader and DMK working president M.K. Stalin’s suggestion to the ruling AIADMK to vote against the BJP government at the Centre in the no-confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party.

Speaking in the Assembly, Mr. Panneerselvam contended that the motion had nothing to do with the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board, and that it would be better to wait for the Supreme Court-mandated deadline to end before taking any step in this regard.

In his speech, Mr. Stalin said the AIADMK government should advise its 37 Lok Sabha MPs to vote against the BJP government to bring pressure to bear on the Centre, even though the motion was unlikely to succeed.

In response, Mr. Panneerselvam explained that the Supreme Court had granted six weeks to constitute the Cauvery Management Board, adding that Tamil Nadu should wait till March 29.

“If it [formation of the board] does not happen [by then], we will again convene an all-party meeting to chalk out the next course of action,” Mr. Panneerselvam said.

“We have waited so far, and let us wait till the last date. As far as the Cauvery water [sharing] dispute is concerned, we will not give up the rights secured by our leader

Amma (former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa). The AIADMK MPs have been raising the issue for the past one week and the Lok Sabha proceedings have been affected by this. Such incidents in support of an issue concerning Tamil Nadu are unprecedented in our political history,” he claimed.

Mr. Panneerselvam took issue with Mr. Stalin’s assertion that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu withdrew his party’s support to the BJP government and recalled his Ministers from the Union Cabinet to uphold the rights of his State. The Telugu Desam Party had been a part of the government at the Centre for the past four-and-a-half years, he pointed out.

“The no-confidence motion is purely related to the issues facing Andhra Pradesh, and has nothing to do with the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board. The two cannot be linked,” he contended.

‘Steps being taken’

Meanwhile, BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan said the Centre had initiated steps to constitute the Cauvery Management Board.

Addressing mediapersons in Coimbatore, she said there was still time for completing the task, and asked the political parties of Tamil Nadu to wait for it.