EPS flays Centre’s inaction on Cauvery

Palaniswami said while the Supreme Court has said its judgment on Cauvery issue will be given soon, there was no adequate water to be provided to delta farmers.

“The Apex Court did not entertain our interim plea citing that the case had drawn to a close. Even though we do not have sufficient water, we have been rationing water to save the standing paddy crop. We have written to the Centre and to Karnataka Chief Minister seeking water to no avail. Our repeated pleas to Karnataka to release water on humanitarian grounds too had been turned down,” he said at the MGR’s birth anniversary celebration here.

As far as the state government was concerned, steps were being taken to provide available water to farmers so that they could harvest and get full yield of the standing paddy crops, Palaniswami said.

Amid brickbats from the Opposition of being subservient to the ruling BJP in the Centre, Chief Minister assuaged the fears of minority community by assuring that he would take it up with the Centre to reconsider its decision to scrap Hajj pilgrimage subsidy. “As far as the state is concerned, it would request the centre to reconsider its decision. We came to know through media reports that Centre had decided to scrap the subsidy. The AIADMK too would make a similar demand to the ruling BJP in the Centre,” he said.

Asked whether the state would enhance its share of subsidy to continue Hajj pilgrimage, the Chief Minister said the state would weigh in on the Centre first.

The recent arrest of fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy on Tuesday was also brought up during the interaction. Palaniswami replied that the state had already written to the Centre to secure the release of the fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka. “We have learnt that some are suffering from chronic ailments. We will bring that to the notice of the Centre and would reiterate our demand to release the fishermen,” he said.

When asked whether TTV Dinakaran’s announcement on floating a new party would impact the ruling faction, Palaniswami dismissed it as a mere speculation by the media. “He (TTV) was away from the party for about a decade. The party was no way affected by his absence last time,” he said. “It is the media that keeps projecting him,” he noted. The Chief Minister reiterated the state’s stand on striking fireworks industry in Virudhunagar.