Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of BJP has objected to the release of water of Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu state by the Congress-led state government and dubbed the decision as a “great crime”.
Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday that the Congress government has committed a great crime by releasing water to Tamil Nadu immediately after the submission of a petition in this regard by the neighbouring state.
Bommai said Tamil Nadu has utilised two times of allotted proportion of water for Kuruvai crop.
“The land used for cultivation has been extended four times. The Karnataka government has not protested these facts in the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) and released the water as soon as Tamil Nadu filed a petition in the Supreme Court.
“You (Congress government) have failed to release water to farmers of our state. You have delayed the decision to release water to farmers of our state and today, you have landed in a position to release water to Tamil Nadu,” Bommai said.
The former chief minister said the water has been released to Tamil Nadu by the irrigation department headed by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar a day after the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the statement that water would not be released to Tamil Nadu.
“It shows there is unity in terms of the issue of managing the Cauvery River water and there is no conviction seen to protest the interests of Karnataka state,” Bommai said.
“The Karnataka government should immediately stop releasing water to Tamil Nadu and convince the Supreme Court about the plight of the farmers of the state. The interests of the farmers of Karnataka should be protected,” Bommai said.
–IANS