Siddaramaiah calls all-party meet on Cauvery after SC direction to K'taka

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Government convened an emergency cabinet meeting followed by an all-party meeting on Wednesday to evolve a consensual stand on release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu according to the Supreme Court order.

The Opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have supported the state government and exhorted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu as directed by the court in the larger interest of cities which rely on the river for drinking water.

Siddaramaiah has called all party meeting in the morning to seek the opinion of floor leaders of legislature, MLAs and MPs of the Cauvery basin, legal team and technical experts will be sought in the all party meeting.

Any consensus drawn in the all party meeting will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting thereafter. As a precautionary measure prohibitory orders are imposed in Bengaluru and Mandya till September 30.

Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that he was yet to read the Supreme Court order on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

“I have to consult the State legal team and advocates. The priority is for drinking water according to our national water policy (2012). So when they (Supreme Court judges) say release water, it immediately does not become a law or an order.”

Since the court's order on Tuesday, peaceful protests were organized in Cauvery basin cities. The police vigil has been intensified in sensitive areas, and Section 144 is in force in Bengaluru.