Cauvery issue: CM Shivakumar to preside all-party meeting in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will chair an all-party meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday to chalk out the state's legal and political strategy on the Cauvery water-sharing dispute with Tamil Nadu, following the CWRC's direction to release 3,500 cusecs of water daily for 15 days.

The meeting will be attended by leaders of all political parties, union ministers from the Cauvery basin region, members of Parliament and senior political leaders to deliberate on Karnataka's stand on the issue.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of widespread protests across Karnataka over the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee's (CWRC) order on July 30, with the BJP, farmers' organisations and pro-Kannada groups demanding that no water be released to Tamil Nadu.

Shivakumar deferred his meeting with his Tamil Nadu counterpart, C Vijay Joseph, which was planned on August 3, saying discussions could be held later in a "more conducive and cordial atmosphere."

He had also said the all-party meeting would help evolve a united stand on the state's legal and political response to the dispute.

The chief minister has maintained that safeguarding Karnataka's interests remains the government's foremost responsibility, while asserting that the state would pursue all available legal and constitutional options in the ongoing Cauvery dispute.