TN CM Vijay’s Bilateral Talk Proposal on Cauvery Issue Draws Backlash

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has proposed bilateral talks with his Karnataka counterpart to seek an amicable solution to the long-standing Cauvery river water-sharing dispute, a move that has drawn criticism from farmers' organisations and political parties in the state.

Vijay is scheduled to visit the neighbouring state on August 3 for talks with Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran had held direct talks with Karnataka in the late 1970s and 1980s, drawing on his personal rapport and political goodwill to secure the immediate release of water outside the judicial process. His unannounced visits, breaking political convention, helped Tamil Nadu secure water, sources said.

Vijay has written to Shivakumar seeking an appointment in Bengaluru, and the latter has agreed to the meeting.

Confirming the development, Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Vinoth told reporters on Friday that Vijay would visit Bengaluru on August 3 for bilateral talks on the long-pending Cauvery dispute and the proposed Mekedatu dam project.

"Karnataka has extended an official invitation to the Chief Minister (Vijay) to visit the state," Vinoth told reporters in Kumbakonam.

On the Mekedatu dam project, Vinoth reiterated Tamil Nadu's firm stand. "We have maintained this stand all along. We will never allow it to be constructed," he said.

The invitation follows recent diplomatic overtures from Karnataka.

On June 18, Shivakumar had expressed his readiness to discuss the Mekedatu issue with Vijay at any time, urging both states to set politics aside. On June 20, Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy reiterated the state's willingness to hold bilateral talks if Tamil Nadu was prepared to do so.

This will be the first visit by a Tamil Nadu CM to Karnataka for bilateral talks on the Cauvery issue in several years. The previous DMK government, despite being allied with the Congress, had maintained that bilateral talks with Karnataka would not yield results and that the issue should be resolved through legal means.

Political observers view Vijay's initiative, undertaken after accommodating the Congress in his Cabinet, as an attempt to revive direct political engagement between the two states after nearly a decade.

The bilateral talks are expected to be closely watched in the changed political scenario following the formation of the TVK-led coalition government. Sources said Vijay hopes to make progress on the Cauvery issue before the government's maiden Budget session begins on August 5.

Arguing that negotiations outside the statutory framework would bypass the legal mechanism established by the Supreme Court, the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Association, led by P R Pandian, urged Vijay to press the Centre to secure the release of 27.5 TMC ft of water from Karnataka, a demand earlier raised by DMK president M K Stalin.

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss also opposed any talks with Karnataka on the Mekedatu dam project.

Tamil Nadu has been opposed to Karnataka's move to construct the balancing reservoir at Mekedatu in that state, claiming it would affect its interests.

The project proposes to meet the drinking water requirements of Bengaluru, besides hydel power generation.

In its landmark 2018 judgment, the Supreme Court constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee as the statutory mechanisms to regulate and implement water-sharing between the two states.

Between June 1 and July 22, 2026, Tamil Nadu received only 3.5 TMC ft of water against the 31 TMC ft it was entitled to under the Supreme Court-mandated schedule.

On July 22, the CWMA deferred a decision on Tamil Nadu's demand for the immediate release of water and referred the matter to the CWRC, which has been tasked with working out a pro-rata water-sharing formula at its meeting on July 28, sources said.

There have been several political interventions in the dispute over the years. Then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa held talks with her Karnataka counterpart Jagadish Shettar in 2012 following a suggestion from the Supreme Court.

A formal meeting between Jayalalithaa and Siddaramaiah was held in New Delhi in 2016. During Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation later that year, then Public Works Department Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami represented Tamil Nadu.

After becoming CM, he also attempted to meet then Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Earlier, then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi held direct talks with his Karnataka counterpart J H Patel in 1996.