Chennai: Tamil Nadu has asked the Union Government to withdraw its Interlocutory Application filed in the Supreme Court against constitution of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), while expressing surprise over the “sudden reversal” in its stand on the sensitive issue. In a letter to Union Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P. Rama Mohana Rao said the state has consistently been urging for the constitution of Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee for the effective implementation of the Final Order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
Explaining the events that took place in the Supreme Court from September 5 to September 30, Mr Rao said the Attorney General had on Friday last told the Supreme Court that Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry have to nominate their respective representatives as per the Final Order passed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
“It is wrong to say that we were not allowed. We were asked to submit the memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Secretary. Since the Prime Minister was in a meeting, we submitted the memorandum to his officials,” Mr Thambidurai told reporters, after the meeting.
Sources said the AIADMK MPs sought an appointment with Prime Minister on Monday night and a time was not given to them due to Mr Modi’s “pre-occupation”.
The MPs, who met at around 10 am inside Parliament complex and held discussions for around 40 minutes, took out a march to South Block, 500 metres away, in the full glare of television cameras, in protest against the decision not to grant an appointment.
The memorandum demanded that the Prime Minister intervene in the matter and direct the Ministry of Water Resources to withdraw the Interlocutory Application filed yesterday in the Supreme Court and immediately constitute the Cauvery Management Board at once and “render justice to the lakhs of farmers dependent on Cauvery water and the people of TN.”
Accusing the Union Government of playing politics in the Cauvery issue, the AIADMK said the Union Government praying that the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court to set up a Cauvery Management Board be reviewed and recalled is a “total shock and a complete reversal of the stand”.
“It is pure politics. We know why the Government has taken such a decision. This is an issue where politics should not be brought in,” the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker said.
To a question on Opposition Leader M.K. Stalin's demand that AIADMK MPs resign from their posts in protest against the U-turn of the Union Government, Mr. Thambidurai sought to turn the tables on the DMK. “Why can't he set an example (by resigning) first? We are trying our best to exert pressure on the Centre. In fact, it is the DMK, which is responsible for the current situation Tamil Nadu finds itself in on the Cauvery issue,” Mr Thambidurai said.
