UNI

Chennai, Apr 15: Taking exception to AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa's criticisms against the Government for not having approached the Supreme Court on the Cauvery issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi on Saturday said her lack of knowledge about facts only showed that she was least concerned about the issue.

Reacting to the AIADMK supremo's statement in this regard, he cited Karnataka Water Resources Minister K S Eshwarappa's speech in the Legislative Council yesterday.

The Minister had said that besides filing an original suit and a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court, the Karnataka Government would file a petition before the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, seeking clarifications on certain portions of the final award.

Eshwarappa had also said the Tribunal had pronounced its verdict on the decades-long water row on February five and had allowed 90 days time for the States concerned to file appeal, the Chief Minister added.

Quoting from the speech of the Karnataka Minister that ''Tamil Nadu too has decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, seeking certain clarifications,'' Karunanidhi said even the opponent Karnataka Government was aware of the Tamil Nadu Government's stand on the Cauvery issue.

''If Leader of the Opposition Jayalalithaa is not aware of facts, it only shows how much concern she has on the issue,'' he remarked.

Jayalalithaa had on Friday criticised the Tamil Nadu Government for not bothering about reports that Karnataka was all set to approach the Supreme Court on the issue.

She had also expressed apprehension that if the DMK Government filed a review petition before the Tribunal, Karnataka would move the Supreme Court, seeking its intervenion and there was a possibility of the apex court restraining the Tribunal from hearing Tamil Nadu's review petition.

There was also a possibility that Karnataka might ask the Supreme Court to transfer the review petition for a joint hearing by it and till then, the review petition would be pending before the Tribunal, she said.

Minister refutes Jaya's charges on Cauvery

UNI

Chennai: Denying AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa's charge that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had not acted in the interest of the state on the Cauvery issue, Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister Duraimurugan has asserted the DMK Government would not go with Karnataka on the vexed issue at any stage.

In a letter to Jayalalithaa, a copy of which was circulated to the media here, he said for the past two months, Karnataka had been saying it would approach the Supreme Court on the issue.

However, Jayalalithaa's apprehension that the Supreme Court might restrain the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal from hearing Tamil Nadu's review petition was ''baseless,'' he said.

Even if Karnataka moved the Apex Court, there was no possibility for restraining the Tribunal or transferring the petition to the SC, the Minister clarified.

Duraimurgan charged the Leader of the Opposition had hurled baseless allegations against the government instead of taking part in the all-party meeting convened tomorrow and giving suggestions to find a solution to the problem.

Replying to Jayalalithaa's charge that the government had not circulated the draft review petition to her party to study and discuss it at the all-party meeting, he said the clarificatory petition, to be filed before the Tribunal under the Inter-State River Water Disputes, had not been finalised yet.

The all-party meeting had been convened to elicit the views of political leaders and share the government's opinion before finalising the petition and filing before the Tribunal, he explained.

The government had convened the meeting in the hope the political leaders would have studied the Tribunal's order and have arrived at a conclusion on procedures to be adopted and clarifications to be sought from the Tribunal, he added.