Karnataka govt inept handling of Cauvery water row, says Ananth Kumar

Bengaluru: While the Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka are demanding the Prime Minister's intervention in the Cauvery row to bail out the state, which is reeling under drought, BJP leaders have clearly ruled out any such possibility.
Holding the state government responsible for its inept handling of the issue in court, two Union Ministers - Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr H.N. Ananth Kumar have asked the state to fight it out in the courts constitutionally.

Speaking to reporters after visiting Mr Pradeep, who was injured in the police firing during the recent Cauvery related riots in the city, Mr Ananth Kumar asked the state to do its homework properly, before going to the Supreme Court.

“In the next two days, the Cauvery Supervisory Committee will be meeting to take a decision. The Supreme Court is seized of the matter. At this juncture, it is not possible for the Prime Minister to intervene. The State should fight the battle constitutionally,'' he said.

Claiming that the state government’s handling of the case before the Supreme Court was to blame for the debacle, he said instead of explaining to the Apex Court the distress situation in Karnataka, the state government had volunteered to release water. This resulted in the Supreme Court directing the state to release water to TN.

“We should not engage in politicking on the issue,'' Mr Ananth Kumar said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the BJP Mahila Morcha conference here, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman echoed the same view.