Bengaluru: In a careful move, the Karnataka legislature on Friday passed a resolution to stop release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, without commenting on the Union government’s stance or criticizing the Supreme Court judgment.
The reason given for not releasing was acute shortage of water in KRS, Hemavathy, Harangi and Kabini dams, which should be providing drinking water to all habitats in Cauvery basin.
While wrapping up the day-long discussion in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said: “We have great respect for the judiciary. The intention is not to disobey the judicial order. We will not think of it even in our dreams. An impossible situation wherein it is not possible to comply with a court order has been created.” In the Legislative Council, too, he stressed that the resolution should not be misconstrued as defiance of the apex court’s order.
The resolution was moved in English by opposition leader Mr Jagadish Shettar and in Kannada by JD(S) Deputy leader Mr YSV Datta. It said: ‘The House notes that in the water year 2016-17, there has been acute distress, but the shortfall in the basin will become known only at the end of the season.. Jan 31, 2017.
The House further seriously notes that the combined storages in the four reservoirs- KRS, Hemvathy, Harangi and Kabini have reached alarmingly low levels with only 27.6 TMC of water left.
It is therefore imperative that the government ensures that no water from the present storages be drawn, save for meeting drinking water requirements of the villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and for the city of Bengaluru.
The above resolution is unanimously passed after carefully considering the needs of the inhabitants of the State of Karnataka, whose interests are likely to be gravely jeopardized if water in the four reservoirs is reduced.’
Meanwhile, in a strong bid to avoid the Supreme Court’s wrath, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah was reportedly constantly in touch with party central leaders and legal experts for the last one week in order to avoid the legal embarrassment witnessed during the tenure of his predecessors, S. Bangarappa and S.M. Krishna.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a party leader in New Delhi confirmed that Mr Siddaramaiah was constantly touch with legal experts like Kapil Sibal, who guided him on how he could evade legal trouble.
“The Congress party since the beginning was of the opinion that Mr Siddaramaiah must take time to convince people that he did everything to protect their interests instead of just complying with the Supreme Court order at the last minute just like his predecessors (Bangarappa and S.M. Krishna),” the source added.
Interestingly, whenever the Cauvery dispute worsens, the Congress party is in power in the state, therefore, Congress top brains considered every possible option before giving the go-ahead to the CM to launch his strategy.
As part of this strategy, Mr Siddaramaiah cleverly ensured that the BJP fell in line after joining hands with former prime minister, H.D. Deve Gowda. He also succeeded in sending out a message that BJP had failed to protect the interests of those in the Cauvery as well as Mahadayi river basins that needed Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s intervention. He ensured that the seeds of suspicion were sown about BJP leaders’ commitment to protecting the state’s interests.
