PMK opposes new tribunal on Mekedatu, urges TN Govt to withdraw proposal

CHENNAI: PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday strongly opposed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly’s resolution seeking a tribunal to resolve the Mekedatu dam issue, warning that such a move would compromise the state's established legal rights and favour Karnataka.

Terming the proposal "unnecessary and counterproductive," the PMK leader, in a statement, urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to remove the clause demanding a new tribunal from the House resolution before forwarding it to the Union Government.

"Farmers' organisations opposed the demand for a separate tribunal in the government resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to resolve the crisis arising from Karnataka's attempts to build the Mekedatu dam across the Cauvery river", he said.

"When justice clearly sides with Tamil Nadu on the Mekedatu issue, seeking central mediation through a new tribunal instead of asserting our existing rights amounts to mortgaging our own state’s interests," he added.

The PMK leader also pointed out that both the Cauvery Tribunal and the Supreme Court have clearly ruled that the upper-riparian states must obtain the explicit consent from the lower-riparian state (Tamil Nadu) before executing any new constructions.

"Given this clear legal edge, the Tamil Nadu government demanding a new tribunal will only invite unnecessary complications, but it is equivalent to needlessly putting our own head into a crocodile's mouth", he alleged.

Claiming that Tamil Nadu’s rights on the Mekedatu issue can only be safeguarded through sustained legal battles and political pressure, Anbumani said, "All political parties, including the PMK, stand firmly behind the Tamil Nadu government's efforts in this regard".

"In such a scenario, we must ensure that we do not hand an advantage to Karnataka by demanding a tribunal", he said, adding, "Therefore, the portions demanding a new tribunal must be removed from the passed resolution using appropriate Assembly rules before it is dispatched to the Union Government".