Chennai: The Cauvery issue and a demand for conducting a caste survey in the State rocked the State Assembly on Thursday, the last day of the Budget session that began on February 12, with the AIADMK and the PMK staging a walk out from the House and the government passing 14 Bills without any discussion.
The session that began with the Governor’s Address was held for 8 days when the State Budget and the Agricultural Budget were presented, followed by debates that saw several members from both the ruling and opposition benches expressing their views and the Chief Minister, replying to members’ queries and also making an announcement on the inauguration of the memorial for M Karunanidhi
Leader of the Opposition in the House, Edappadi K Palaniswami raised the Cauvery issue through a call attention motion during zero hour on the last day that led to a heated exchange between him and State Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan.
Palaniswami accused the government of betraying the people of the State on the Cauvery issue by allowing the Cauvery Water Management Authority to discuss the controversial proposal of Karnataka government to construct a dam across the inter-State river at Mekedatu.
While the authority was not empowered to discuss or decide on anything other than the implementation of the verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court orders, the Tamil Nadu government not only permitted the matter for discussion but also stayed put without expressing its protest by staging a walk out.
Duraimurugan explained that the Mekedatu issue was brought into the discussion by stealth but assured the House that there was no scope for Karnataka to build the dam as it had been threatening since r no construction could be taken up without the permission of Tamil Nadu.
BJP member Vanathi Srinivasan said that that the DMK government could have spoken to the Congress government in Karnataka as both the parties were allies at the national level and found a solution to the dispute, for which Duraimurugan said that the government did not want to talk to Karnataka but exuded the confidence that the proposed dam, even if fund allocations were made in the State Budget, could not be built.
He pointed out that several clearances needed to be obtained for executing a project of that measure and nothing had been taken for to enable the construction.
But Palansiwami explained how the AIADMK government had resisted Karnataka from taking up the issue at the meeting of the Cauvery Authority and recalled AIADMK members paralyzing Parliament for 22 days on the issue.
State law minister S Regupathy said that the AIADMK MPs paralyzed the Parliament not on the Cauvery issue but to save the Union BJP government.
Duraimurugan said that Chief Minister M K Stalin had written several letters to the Prime Minister on the continuing dispute with Karnataka and the Government had also filed four cases in court to prevent the construction of the dam.
However, not satisfied with the reply of the government, the AIADMK members staged a walkout from the House. PMK members, too, walked out in protest against the Speaker not allowing them to speak on their demand to conduct a caste survey.
When PMK floor leader G K Mani and member Arul raised the issue, stressing on the need for the caste survey, Stalin said that he was on their side and not against the conduct of the survey and explained why it could not be conducted now. Alleging that they were not allowed to speak, the PMK MLAs walked out In protest.
The House was adjourned by the Speaker after passing the 14 Bills that were moved.
