Convene all-party meeting to discuss Cauvery issue: Ramadoss

CHENNAI: While condemning Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who announced that Cauvery water will not be released to Tamil Nadu, PMK founder S Ramadoss urged the state government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.

In his statement, the senior leader said that the Cauvery Water Management Authority has ordered Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs for 15 days. "Even though the water is not sufficient, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar refused to release water. As per judgements, Karnataka should have given 102.30 TMC of water, but only 35 TMC has been released, " he added.

Saying that Karnataka's refusal is against the relationship between the states and federal system, Ramadoss said that dams in Karnataka have 63 TMC.

"Siddaramaiah convened an all-party meeting in Karnataka to show the solidarity of parties in the issue. This is the second such meeting in 3 weeks. If sufficient water is not released, Kuruvai crops could not be saved. But the state government has no clarity in handling the issue, " he said.

A case filed by Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court will come for hearing on September 21. But it is unknown whether the court will hear the case on that day or adjourn the hearing.

"It is not correct to depend on the apex court only. Only solution is to give political pressure apart from legal action. Moreover the government has a responsibility to show that all parties in Tamil Nadu are aligned on the issue. The government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the next course of action, " he urged.