CHENNAI: The DMK on Sunday accused Electricity Minister R Nirmalkumar of attempting to deflect attention from the Cauvery water dispute by targeting the Opposition instead of explaining the State government's stand on the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir project.
Addressing the media, DMK Advocates' Wing Joint Secretary and former MLA I Paranthaman said the Minister's remarks against late former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi were intended to divert the debate from the Cauvery issue. He warned that the party would initiate legal action against those making defamatory remarks against Karunanidhi.
Questioning the C Joseph Vijay-led government's handling of the issue, Paranthaman said it had failed to convene an all-party meeting, a practice adopted by previous Chief Ministers while dealing with inter-State river water disputes. He also alleged that the government had not disclosed the outcome of the Chief Minister's reported meeting with officials on the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues.
The DMK demanded that the government answer three questions within 24 hours: what steps it had taken to seek the constitution of a tribunal under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act to prevent the Mekedatu project; what decisions were taken at the Chief Minister's meeting on the Cauvery issue; and whether the Chief Minister's proposed visit to Karnataka was initiated by the Tamil Nadu government. If so, it asked the government to make the request letter public.
Paranthaman said the government's response would determine whether it was genuinely committed to protecting Tamil Nadu's interests, and warned that failure to respond would reinforce the perception among Cauvery delta farmers that the government had failed them.