We presented the case well, says CM

Blames Union ministers from State for not briefing prime minister

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has defended his government saying that it presented the case before the Supreme Court and the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), as well as it could have.

Addressing the media here on Sunday, Shettar said the government had apprised the Prime Minister on the prevailing drought and drinking water scarcity in the State. PM was also requested to defer the meeting of the Cauvery River Authority by 15 days and depute a team to assess the ground situation in the river basin.

The chief minister blamed Union ministers from the State for not making any efforts to protect the interest of Karnataka.  “The ministers were provided with all the requisite information. But none took the trouble to brief the Prime Minister,” he alleged.

Defends legal team

Defending the government’s legal team headed by Fali S Nariman, the chief minister said the senior counsel had been representing the State in the Cauvery issue for several years, and he had done his best to safeguard its interests. He said the leader of the Opposition, Siddaramaiah, was named one of the representatives from the State for the CRA meeting, but he did not attend. Referring to Siddaramaiah demanding his resignation, Shettar accused the Congress of politicising the issue.

Terming the direction of the CRA ‘ad hoc, arbitrary and far from ground realities,’ Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the Prime Minister should have sent a team of experts for an assessment of the ground realities.

The minister said the S M Krishna government in 2002 released water when the storage was 44.4 tmc ft.  “The Congress then took out a padayatra, but gave up the agitation half way and released water, fearing contempt proceedings. It even tendered an apology to the court. Now it is blaming us for releasing water,” Bommai said.