Siddaramaiah, Shettar in blame game over Kalasa-Banduri

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadish Shettar, has accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of “politicising” the Mahadayi water dispute instead of resolving it.

Shettar was here on Monday as part of an all-party delegation that accompanied the chief minister to call on Fali S Nariman, the head of Karnataka’s legal team on the Mahadayi dispute. He claimed that the Opposition was “co-operating” with the government to resolve the long-standing problem but the chief minister was “indulging in politics”.

The BJP leader objected to the chief minister’s visit to Jantar Mantar, where more than 300 farmers from North Karnataka have been on a protest demanding early implementation of the Kalasa Banduri project. “The chief minister should have opted for some other occasion to meet the protesting farmers,” he said.

“The farmers’ protest has been organised by Congress leaders from North Karnataka. What is the need for the CM to visit the protest venue when he is leading an all-party delegation to hold discussions with the legal team.”

At Jantar Mantar, Siddaramaiah attacked the BJP, saying it was “engaging in politics instead of helping resolve the problem”. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a meeting of the chief ministers of Karnataka and Goa to address the problem.