Bengaluru: A day after BJP state chief B.S. Yeddyurappa received a letter from Goa CM Manohar Parrikar expressing his willingness to release water to meet the needs of parched north Karnataka, CM Siddaramaiah shot off a letter to his Goan counterpart seeking the convening of a meeting of the three CMs of Mahadayi basin states at a convenient time and venue at the earliest.
With this, the Chief Minister has lobbed the ball back in the court of the Bharatiya Janata Party which had planned to win over voters of north Karnataka by getting them water from Mahadayi, ignoring the fact that this was supposed to be done through a government to government dialogue.
Instead of making this an ego issue and engage in a protracted battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr Siddaramaiah merely said, “I am writing this after the media reported about a personal letter addressed by you (Parrikar) to state BJP President B.S. Yeddyurappa on Thursday. It is widely circulated on social media also.”
Mr Siddaramaiah subtly accused Mr Parrikar of not responding to his letter dated May 25, 2017 in which he had asked his counterparts in Maharashtra and Goa to convene a meeting in Bengaluru based on suggestions made by Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal.
“I only wish you (Parrikar) had replied to my letter since I took the initiative for a negotiated settlement based on the suggestions made by judges of the tribunal on September 1, 2016.”
He added, “My chief secretary, Ms K Ratna Prabha will get in touch with your chief secretary and chief secretary of Maharashtra to work out the agenda and details of the meeting.”
With this, the Chief Minister has cleverly put the onus on the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Karnataka and Goa to get Mahadayi water for Karnataka at the risk of losing the goodwill of Goans.
