JOIN USInvite oppn leaders from riparian states for Mahadayi meet: BSY
BJP State President B S Yeddyurappa has sought that the leaders of the Opposition in the legislatures of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa should be invited for the October 21 meeting on Mahadayi issue convened in Mumbai.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday, Yeddyurappa said senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, should convince their party leaders in Maharashtra and Goa to arrive at an amicable solution to resolve the
Mahadayi water sharing dispute.
The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal last month had advised chief ministers of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra to try to arrive at an amicable settlement through negotiations. Accordingly, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has organised a meeting of chief ministers of the three states in Mumbai on October 21.
The Congress is the principal opposition party in the BJP-ruled Maharashtra and Goa. Congress leaders in Goa have said that the state should not part with Mahadayi waters to Karnataka.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar told reporters here that the BJP had prepared a platform for discussion on the Mahadayi issue by holding talks with Fadnavis on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra chief minister is of the strong view that water disputes could be solved through talks and negotiations.
“Fadnavis said Maharashtra has an open mind to discuss the issue. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Water Resources Minister M B Patil should go well-prepared to the meeting of the riparian states,” he added.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah evaded a direct reply to queries by reporters on the statements by Congress leaders of Goa as well as Yeddyurappa’s suggestion.
“It is not important who is opposing. We will be sitting across the table for the first time on October 21. We will discuss all aspects. We do not wish to create controversy at any stage. Our sole intention is that some solution should emerge from the meeting,” Siddaramaiah said.
He said he has convened an all-party meeting in Bengaluru on October 19 to discuss the Mahadayi issue.
The dispute relates to Maharashtra and Goa raising objection to Karnataka’s proposal to draw of water from the Mahadayi river to the Malaprabha river by building canals at Kalasa and Banduri to provide drinking water to the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the districts of Belagavi and Gadag.
Make Auradkar report public: BJP
The BJP on Thursday urged the government to make public the report given by the senior police officer Raghavendra Auradkar on the recent Mahadayi agitation.
Parts of Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag districts witnessed widespread violent protests over the Mahadayi tribunal’s interim order rejecting Karnataka’s claim of water. As many as 187 agitators were arrested and the Opposition has been demanding withdrawal of cases booked against them. The government had asked Auradkar-led police officers’ team to study the authenticity of the cases.
Jagadish Shettar said innocent people including pregnant women were beaten up by the police during the agitation. The government had promised to withdraw the cases filed against 187 people. However, the findings of the Auradkar team has not been made public so far, Shettar added.
‘Ball will be in Centre’s court’
Law Minister T B Jayachandra on Thursday said the ball will be in the Centre’s court to take a decision on the Mahadayi issue after the October 21 meeting.
Jayachandra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently told an all-party delegation from the state, which had sought his intervention on the Mahadayi issue, that consultation process between the three states should be held first, reports DHNS from Bengaluru.
“The consultation meeting will be happening on October 21 after which the ball will be in the Centre’s court,” Jayachandra said.