TN Assembly To Convene Today Amid Cauvery Issue, CM Stalin To Table Resolution

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu will present the first supplementary estimates for FY 2023-24 as the Legislative Assembly is scheduled to convene today.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly will convene on Monday in the state capital Chennai amid Cauvery river water dispute with neighbouring Karnataka. This will also be the first session of the Assembly after All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham parted ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Development Alliance. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu is slated to present the first supplementary estimates for FY 2023-24 today, as per a PTI report. 

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will move a resolution in the Assembly requesting the Central Government to direct the Karnataka Government to release Cauvery water as per the orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority.  

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been at loggerheads over sharing the Cauvery river water as Bengaluru says it does not have enough water to share while Chennai demands for more water to be released. 

On September 30, Tamil Nadu farmers blocked Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses at Tiruchirappalli central bus stand and staged a protest against the Cauvery water sharing issue. 

Last month witnessed several protests by farmers in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 

Tamil Nadu's Delta Farmers Association members hit themselves with whips to express their pain due to the drying up of farmlands due to lack of Cauvery water. 

The row over river water sharing erupted after the Cauvery authority ordered the release of 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu till October 15. While Karnataka officials said that they were not in a position to release water to Tamil Nadu, the lower riparian state demanded CWMA to release 12,500 cusecs of water for the next 15 days to save the standing crops.

The Monday session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly will also be the first after AIADMK snapped its four-year-long ties with the BJP and announced its exit from the NDA. 

The party declared its intention to lead an independent front for the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This decision was reached during a pivotal meeting held at the AIADMK headquarters, presided over by party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The party took the decision amid its friction with the Tamil Nadu BJP leadership as AIADMK accused state BJP President Annamalai of "insulting" late chief ministers CN Annadurai and Jayalalithaa.