D(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy may not have taken charge as Karnataka Chief Minister just yet but he is sticking to the stand of the earlier Congress government that the state does not have enough waterto share with Tamil Nadu.
The JD(S) that emerged third in the recent Karnataka assembly elections is set to form the next government with the support of the Congress after the two parties stitched up a post-poll alliance.
“It is only if there is water in Karnataka that it is possible to give water,” said Mr Kumaraswamy when asked for his reaction to superstar Rajinikanth’s comments that Karnataka should follow the Supreme Court order on sharing of Cauvery water.
“I invite Rajinikanth to come here and look at the situation of our dams, the position of our farmers… If after you see that, you still say you want water, let us discuss it,” the JD(S) leader said.
Settling the decades-old water sharing dispute earlier this year, the Supreme Court had ruled that Karnataka would release 177.25 thousand million cubic feet of water to Tamil Nadu as opposed to the earlier 192 thousand million cubic feet.
There have been huge protests across Tamil Nadu over the delay by the centre in setting up the body that will oversee the water sharing. Actor Rajinikanth had called the delay disappointing, saying it would affect the livelihood of Tamil Nadu farmers.
Actor Rajinikanth, who has already announced that he would form a political party and contest the next assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, said it would have been good if the authority controlled the dams.
Prasanta Patnaik