Bengaluru:

Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai accused Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar of misleading the people regarding the inflow of the Cauvery water.

While speaking to reporters, he said that Mr Shivakumar had said that there had been a heavy inflow of water. However, when they got information from the authorities, they said that the inflow was around 2,000 cusecs of water.

“Why is Shivakumar misleading people? Why he was speaking so lightly on this serious issue? It was not enough for the Dy CM to always talk about Brand Bangalore, but Cauvery water should be saved for Bangalore. Otherwise, it will be a ‘Bad Bangalore’,” he said.

Asked about a distress formula, the former CM said that before 2018, there was no such situation to implement the distress formula. After the establishment of CWMA, the problem of water has now come. So, it was necessary to implement the distress formula.

Further talking about the prevailing law and order situation in Shivamogga Mr Bommai said the stone palters and troublemakers have no fear for law in the incumbent Congress Government.

“It is unfortunate that Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar has described the Shivamogga incident as small. Houses have been stoned in Shivamogga. A similar incident has happened in Kolar also. The government was indirectly supporting such elements. The home minister’s statement has been childish. Due to this kind of attitude, the gamblers, anti-social elements, and rioters were roaming freely,” said Mr Bommai.

According to the police, a group of miscreants pelted stones at some vehicles and houses during the Eid Milad procession in the Shantinagar-Ragigudda area. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday slammed the ruling Karanataka Congress over its mismanagement of the Cauvery water dispute.

“Politics is being done by Congress party which is trying to favour their INDIA alliance partner in Tamil Nadu. Yesterday, the Cauvery Water Management Authority directed Karnataka to release 3000 cusecs of water, it was an adverse order against the state govt of Karnataka but the Dy CM (DK Shivakumar) went on record welcoming the judgement and said we are happy. The CM (Siddaramaiah) then said we are unhappy with the order and we will appeal in the Supreme Court. The intention of Dy CM to protect its INDIA alliance partner in DMK is precariously pushing the farmers of Karnataka and the drinking water needs of Karnataka to a perilous point,” stated Tejasvi Surya.

He alleged Congress’ political benefits in helping its INDIA partner DMK in Tamil Nadu. The BJP leader pinned blame on Siddaramaiah government and its failure in dealing with the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

“The Cauvery issue is beyond politics for us, the state has repeatedly failed to impress upon the Cauvery water management authority, the grim water situation in Karnataka,” he said.

The BJP MP highlighted the ‘grim’ realities of the state and said “Karnataka primarily gets rain from the South West monsoon which has already exhausted, Tamil Nadu still has the potential of recieving bounty rainfall from the North east monsoons which is yet to arrive”.

Training guns at Karnataka Congress he said that the ruling party has severely failed to present the reality of the state to the Cauvery water management authority.

On Congress’ demand of centre’s intervention in the Cauvery water dispute, he said that the party is trying to change the goal post and asserted that centre can only present the reality of the state in front of the authority, which they certainly have.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya along with other BJP leaders on wednesday led massive protest in Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha against the Siddaramaiah government over the on going Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the farmers in Karnataka’s Mandya are protesting to stop water from being released from Karnataka dams to Tamil Nadu. Farmers across Karnataka have been protesting since the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) ordered the state to release 5000 cusecs of water to its neighbouring state Tamil Nadu, for 15 days, effective from September 13.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra refused to interfere in the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and said that both CWMA and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) are regularly meeting and monitoring the water requirements every 15 days.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)