Only mutual dialogue can solve Mahadayi impasse, says CM

We will try to convince Goa Congress leaders: KPCC chief

The Mahadayi river water-sharing dispute can be resolved only through mutual dialogue between Karnataka and Goa, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, he reiterated that the Karnataka government was willing to begin discussions any time and hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would mediate.

The chief minister said state BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa had promised to bring 'good news' to the state's farmers by December 15, but failed. Hence, the farmers are angry, he said. "Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Yeddyurappa together are performing political stunts. The Goa water resources minister himself has admitted this," Siddaramaiah said.

"I had offered to go to Goa to speak with Parrikar. But he asked me to come after the elections. Ryots are sick of their drama and have taken to agitation," Siddaramaiah said.

He said, "In my 40 years in politics, this is the first time that one party has staged a protest at the office of another party. Yeddyurappa, who made a mistake, is now diverting the attention of the people of the state. We are willing to find a solution for the water dispute, but the prime minister has to intervene".

On his own candidature for the 2018 Assembly polls, Siddaramaiah clarified that he will contest from the Chamundeshwari constituency and nowhere else. "The person who gives me the ticket is Rahul Gandhi, not rumour-mongers," he quipped.

In Bengaluru, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara on Thursday said the party's state unit will try and convince its leaders in Goa on the Mahadayi issue only if Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar officially communicates his stand to the Karnataka government.

"As per the law, the Goa chief minister should write to either his Karnataka counterpart or the chief secretary. Instead, he (Parrikar) has written to BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa...He has not replied to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, despite him writing thrice, urging him to come for talks on the issue," Parameshwara said at the Congress Foundation day celebrations in Bengaluru.

He took exception to the BJP staging a protest in front of the state Congress office in Bengaluru on the Mahadayi issue on Wednesday. "It is perhaps for the first time in the history of state politics that a political party has staged a protest infront of another political party's office. We in Congress also had youth and the situation would have gone out of control if they had countered the BJP's protest," he added.