Letter politics will weaken Karnataka's stand on Mahadayi, says Dinesh Gundurao

Bengaluru: Alleging that the ‘letter politics’ of BJP leaders of Karnataka and Goa might weaken Karnataka’s case in the Mahadayi river dispute tribunal, KPCC working president, Dinesh Gundurao on Sunday asserted that the vexed issue can be solved only if the all three states in the Mahadayi basin come together and resolve it amicably.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr Rao charged that BJP leaders in the state were playing with farmer sentiments. “Instead of indulging in letter politics, BJP leaders should have insisted that an all-party delegation meet the Goa CM and seek the release of water,” he said.

“I fear this letter politics of BJP leaders might weaken our stand on Mahadayi in the water dispute tribunal, where we have a bright chance of winning the case, which will help our farmers in north Karnataka,” he said.

In response to a question, Mr Rao denied that the state government had any intention of dividing any community including Lingayats. “It all started with All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha submitting a memorandum to the CM demanding separate religion status for their community. The issue was not raised by the ruling party at all. As the CM, he (Siddaramaiah) had only responded to the memorandum submitted by various stakeholders and was trying to find a solution to a problem which the community had been raising for years,” he reasoned.