The state BJP continued its tirade against the prime minister on the Cauvery issue with the state party president and Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa on Sunday accusing Manmohan Singh of behaving like “an agent of Tamil Nadu.”

Speaking at a workshop for BJP functionaries from across the State to orient them on exposing the “misdeeds of UPA government,” Eshwarappa accused Singh, who is also the chairman of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), of directing the State to release 9,000 cusecs on a daily basis, without assessing the ground realities in the Cauvery basin.

“The prime minister did not even grant an appointment to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who stayed in New Delhi for two days to meet him. He is the prime minister of the country and should not act like an agent of Tamil Nadu,” Eshwarappa said. The deputy chief minister also accused the State Congress of politicising the Cauvery issue and adopting double standards.

Eshwarappa said the Congress had initially supported Shettar over his walkout during the CRA meeting, but was terming the move a blunder. Eshwarappa’s remarks come a day after senior Congress leaders slammed the BJP government for committing a series of lapses in presenting the State’s case before the CRA and the Supreme Court.

Eshwarappa said the youth wing of the BJP will hold a mammoth convention in Hubli on October 20 against the UPA government for its decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail and the plethora of scams which have rocked the Central government.