Bengaluru: Jolted by Goa water resources minister Vinod Palyekar's tweet against an out of court settlement on sharing water of the river Mahadayi, the state government appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and settle the dispute with Goa.
Speaking to 'Deccan Chronicle', water resources minister M.B. Patil, said "we are not playing dirty tricks as tweeted by Mr. Vinod Palyekar. His statement is completely wrong and foolish in nature. Why should Karnataka plays dirty tricks with regard to Mahadayi water dispute?. Our Chief Minister has initiated talks with Goa and Maharashtra following a suggestion by Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal. The tribunal has suggested to the three riparian states to settle the dispute through an out of court settlement, so where is the question of Karnataka playing dirty tricks? It is inappropriate on the part of Goa to state that Karnataka is playing dirty politics over Mahadayi water dispute."
Infact, then Goa Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni, presently holding the post of Additional Solicitor General of India, gave an undertaking to the Tribunal about a negotiated settlement. How could the Goa government renege on its stand before the Tribunal, Mr. Patil queried.
Lambasting leaders of Opposition BJP who often demanded the Congress government to initiate talks with Goa on Mahadayi dispute while assuring to convince BJP government and its leaders in Goa, Mr. Patil asked whether these leaders were asleep now.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar criticized the state government for not making an all-out effort to resolve the crisis. Mr Shettar told Deccan Chronicle the tribunal has already commenced the hearing but the state government has not taken serious interest about proceedings in the Tribunal.
