Cauvery dispute: See you in court, says Karnataka

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Despite their differences, the three major political parties - BJP, Congress and JD(S) - on Saturday put up a unified front on the issue of Cauvery river water dispute with Tamil Nadu.

At an all-party meeting convened at Vidhana Soudha, they unanimously decided to debate the formation of the Cauvery Management Committee and the Cauvery Regulatory Authority by the centre at the upcoming Parliamentary session in New Delhi. The three parties also unified in giving the state government the green light for filing an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the formation of the two bodies and the scheme of dividing the water.

"We have spoken in a unanimous voice to protect the water rights of Karnataka. Our Union minister for Parliamentary affairs HN Ananth Kumar suggested that the matter be raised in the Parliament. The BJP suggested that the government, if possible, should file an appeal in the SC against the entire scheme of river sharing and formation of the two boards," said Yeddyurappa, after the meeting. Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy reaffirmed this, adding, "The Karnataka polity has decided to tackle the issue and also approach the SC," he said.

Later, briefing the media, water resources minister DK Shivakumar said the resolution by Karnataka will see all the 40 MPs from the state debate upon the issue in the Parliament, wherein Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar will take the lead. "Our opposition is based upon the fact that the Centre took a hasty decision and did not take into account Karnataka's stand. They formed the committees even without presenting it before the Parliament," said Shivakumar.

"The principal secretary for water resources Rakesh Singh and the managing director for Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) HN Prasanna will attend the inaugural meeting scheduled for July 2," he said. According to sources, the basic concern of Karnataka is to ensure that there is no interference from "outside" over the Cauvery water sharing issue.

Adding fuel to the fire of dissidence between the coalition partners, JD(S) and Congress, former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday skipped the all-party meet on Cauvery, citing he was "indisposed".