Cauvery Row: JD(S) Chief Deve Gowda Decries Karnataka MPs For Not Raising Issue In Special Parliament Session

As the Supreme Court has already pronounced its decision on the Cauvery water issue, Gowda said that he does not want to comment on it as a former prime minister.

Till now, Karnataka has been stating that they are not in a position to release water due to their own drinking water and irrigation needs.

JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda on Friday expressed displeasure over the way the Congress-led Karnataka government handled the inter-state water dispute. The former CM commented at a time when protests and bandhs were held in Karnataka against the release of Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu. Earlier, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee ordered the Karnataka government to release 5,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. The Supreme Court also refused to interfere with the decision.

Talking to reporters, Gowda, a former PM expressing dissatisfaction over the way the issue was being handled said, "The state officials are not attending CWMA meetings physically. They are participating in it virtually... Will things work if you attend virtual meetings?"

As the Supreme Court has already pronounced its decision on the Cauvery water issue, Gowda said that he does not want to comment on it as a former prime minister.

Gowda claimed, however, that he had brought up the Cauvery issue in the Rajya Sabha during the recently ended Parliamentary session. However, none of the state's lawmakers, not even the head of the opposition, Mallikarnju Kharge, mentioned it.

Till now, Karnataka has been stating that they are not in a position to release water due to their own drinking water and irrigation needs.

For the past few days, farmers' organisations and Karnataka residents have been protesting against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, particularly in the heartland cities of Mandya and Mysuru. On Saturday, the farmers' organisation Raitha Hitharakshana Samiti also declared a bandh in Mandya.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu government had petitioned the Supreme Court to request an increase in the daily water allocation from 5,000 cusecs to 7,200 cusecs. The court, however, declined to alter the CWMA directives.