'Call all-party meet, special Assembly session on Cauvery issue'

Organised by the DMK at Anna Arivalayam where farmers wing leaders of CPI, CPM and Congress and various farmer’s associations participated on Thursday, the resolution also asked the state government to convene an all-party meeting and elicit views of leaders before convening the special Assembly session to protect the livelihood of the state farmers. They also asked the state to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard. It may be remembered that a delegation by the ruling AIADMK MPs alone was not successful in meeting the Prime Minister in this regard. Referring to the failure of Kuruvai crop during the last five years and Samba crop this year, the resolution said that Karnataka had released only 33.95 tmcft to Tamil Nadu so far this year against the 192 tmcft ordered by the tribunal, despite receiving good rainfall. The upper riparian state should give up its confrontational approach, and instead enforce the verdicts of the 

Supreme Court and Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, the meeting resolved. The meeting criticised Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati and her cabinet colleagues from Karnataka, Anand Kumar and Sadanand Gowda for expressing views against Tamil Nadu and betraying the state farmers.  Instead of advising Karnataka government not to maintain a confrontational approach, they sided with the government to the detriment of farmer’s welfare in Tamil Nadu, a resolution added. The Tamil Nadu Assembly must resolve in a special meeting to demonstrate the unanimity of opinion of the state’s people on the issue of Cauvery Management Board and condemn the Karnataka government in one voice for disregarding the verdict of the Supreme Court, the meeting said. Another resolution condemned the BJP-led Union government for acting in a biased manner and delaying the constitution of the CMB to further the party’s political interests in Karnataka. The resolution also urged the Centre to take steps to implement the verdict of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by constituting the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Distribution Regulatory Committee.