Hold all-party meet to show TN stands united on Cauvery, Oppn tells govt

CHENNAI: The Opposition parties in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday asserted that the government should convene an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu dam issue to arrive at a collective decision on the sensitive matter.

During the discussion on the calling attention motion, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin said Karnataka was aggressively pursuing the construction of the Mekedatu dam and had taken several steps on the issue over the past month.

"After the TVK-led government assumed office, Karnataka has become more aggressive in pursuing the Mekedatu dam project. Karnataka convened an all-party meeting, which was attended by five former Chief Ministers. However, the Tamil Nadu government has avoided convening an all-party meeting on the Cauvery issue," Udhayanidhi said.

He said the DMK had been demanding an all-party meeting to demonstrate the unity of political parties in Tamil Nadu, similar to what had been witnessed in Karnataka.

Supporting the demand, AIADMK floor leader Edappadi K Palaniswami also called for an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu issue. He said the government should convene such a meeting, on the lines of Karnataka, and seek the views of political parties.

Members of PMK, CPM and CPI also supported the demand.