No consensus on Mahadayi at all-party meeting

The all party meeting convened by the state government to discuss the Mahadayi issue failed to take any major decision with the BJP being disagreeable to any of the suggestions aired.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who chaired the three-hour long meeting, later told the media that despite BJP's disagreement, he had decided to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an audience.

He said that if Modi was agreeable, then he would lead yet another all-party delegation to New Delhi.

The chief minister also said that he was still willing to hold talks with Goa, provided that his counterpart Manohar Parrikar convened a meeting.

"If the Goa chief minister invites me for talks, then I'm more than willing to accept the invitation, no matter the time and place. I'm still hoping to hear from him. I will not stand on prestige even though there is a protocol violation. I will do it in the interest of the farmers and the state. If Goa fails to respond to Karnataka's overtures, then I will write to the prime minister about taking an all-party delegation to him. I conveyed this during the meeting, but the BJP leaders were not agreeable to either of these suggestions," added Siddaramaiah.

The BJP was represented by Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar, Basavaraj Bommai and K S Eshwarappa.

The leaders demanded that Congress president Rahul Gandhi convince the opposition Congress in Goa and Maharashtra about Karnataka's requirement for Mahadayi water for drinking purposes.