Bengaluru: Stunned by another harsh order of the Supreme Court on release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, CM Siddaramaiah invited leaders of all parties for discussion on Saturday on the next step to be adopted by the state government as the apex court warned that none would know when the “wrath of the law” would fall on them.
With the court also insisting that the government should announce the name of its nominee for Cauvery Water Management Board by 4 PM on Saturday, Siddaramaiah has decided to seek opinion of leaders of all parties, Union ministers, and members of both Houses of Parliament tomorrow. The state government has opposed formation of the Board besides adopting a stand that the dispute should not be heard by the SC under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, according to official sources.
The Chief Minister extended his stay in New Delhi by a day after attending a meeting convened by Union water resources minister Uma Bharti to help the riparian states arrive at an amicable agreement and end the vexed dispute on Thursday.
He chose not to react on the latest order of the Supreme Court to release of 6,000 cusecs every day for six days from October 1, and returned to the city with ministers M B Patil and T.B. Jayachandra.
Order is tragic, says HD Deve Gowda
Terming the Supreme Court order directing Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu as 'tragic and hurried,' former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda expressed his displeasure against Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti and even Karnataka’s counsel in the apex court Fali Nariman.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Gowda said that he would study the court’s directive in detail and take a decision in a day or two on the future course of action.
There is no point in talking about it, Gowda said. "When the special leave petition (SLP) filed by Karnataka is coming up for hearing by October 18, the Supreme Court has hurriedly asked the Central government to form the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). I don't want to say anything about this. All I want to do is request people of the state to maintain peace. I am still alive,'' he remarked.
Expressing his displeasure against the Union government, Gowda said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had not said that he would not release water during Thursday’s meeting with Bharti.
All he did was to request Bharti to send a team to the Cauvery basin states to assess the ground situation, to which Tamil Nadu objected. "They don't want the truth to come out. All they want is water to be released,'' he said.
"The state’s counsel Nariman refused to argue for us as Karnataka has not released water. However, he could have told the court that formation of the CMB was not on the court’s agenda. He did not even say that,'' Gowda added.
