From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Sep 23: BJP leaders including former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and B S Yediyurappa staged a massive protest near the Mysuru Bank Circle. The BJP leaders were taken into custody and later released.
With Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other Congress leaders seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to solve the inter-state water sharing dispute, Bommai came out with a suggestion demanding Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s mediation with Tamil Nadu to bring the neighbouring State around as DMK is part of the INDIA opposition alliance.
Bommai and other BJP leaders claimed that Karnataka administration is not functioning and has the audacity to release water to Tamil Nadu without taking care to protect the interests of the people and meet their drinking water needs.
Developmental works have come to a standstill and the Congress government has completely failed in protecting the land and water of Karnataka, Bommai said holding the Siddaramaiah regime directly responsible for any drinking water problems in the Cauvery basin regions.
The Congress government has bungled in its handling of the Cauvery water issue from the beginning, Bommai said and claimed that Karnataka officials remained silent when the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) was deliberating on the demand from Tamil Nadu regarding release of Cauvery waters.
The government failed to approach the Supreme Court right at the beginning when the CWMA was discussing the release of waters and convened the all party meeting when a second order for release of water, the BJP leader said.
Bommai contended that Tamil Nadu is permitted to cultivate in 1.8 lakh acres. But they have illegally extended the agricultural operations in 5 lakh acres. The State officials have not raised any objections on this issue, he said and alleged that the government is releasing water to neighbouring state to safeguard the INDIA alliance.
"As Sonia Gandhi is a key leader of INDIA alliance, let her mediate and bring a solution,’’ he said terming the demand for Prime Minister’s intervention as totally politically motivated.
Bommai said the BJP has larger number of legislators in the Cauvery basin districts. "We will extend our support to the people protesting in Mandya and other regions against the release of water,’’ he said warning that the agitation will be intensified if the water release is not stopped.
Addressing the agitators, former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka has become Tamil Nadu's agent.
"The Congress, which was supposed to protect the interest of the state, is acting like an agent of Tamil Nadu. The ministers of the state are issuing statements as if they are agents of Tamil Nadu," Yediyurappa attacked.
The state government had released water before the order of the Supreme Court. The farmers are pushed into crisis. Let Tamil Nadu send a team of experts to Karnataka, they will know the crisis here, he said.
Knowing well that there is no storage of water in state reservoirs, the water released day and night to Tamil Nadu neglecting the interests of the state. This is just a symbolic protest. In the coming days the protest will be launched with more intensity in the state. All MLAs and MPs will together come into the agitation, Yediyurappa stated.
Former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy has stated that the state should not release a drop of water to Tamil Nadu. The Congress government should stop acting like an agent of Tamil Nadu and file a petition before the Supreme Court. They must efficiently present the views, he stated.
The protestors raised slogans chiding CM Siddaramaiah that he is CM of Tamil Nadu. They also shouted that DyCM Shivakumar is DyCM for Tamil Nadu.
Former DyCM Govind Karajol, former Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, MLAs K. Gopalaiah, Ravi Subramanya, C.K. Ramamurthy, Uday Grudachar and MP P.C. Mohan took part in the protest.
With Inputs from IANS