Centre delaying nod to Mekedatu project: HDK

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said on Sunday that the central government would be betraying the interests of the state, if it delays permission for the implementation of the Mekedatu project, under pressure from Tamil Nadu.

Reacting to a statement by former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, he sought a clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on whether the Centre was delaying approval to the project, bowing to Tamil Nadu’s pressure.

Palaniswami, according to reports, said that he had exerted pressure on the Centre against approval to the project.

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BJP MPs of the state should go to Delhi and seek an answer from the prime minister, he said.

Recalling that the previous government under him had implemented the project, Kumaraswamy said it was still not accorded permission by the Centre.

“Petitions were filed against the project. Considering all this, one is prone to suspect that Tamil Nadu and Centre are conspiring to block the project.”

He also attacked the Centre for not including Kannada in a training programme starting June 22 on 12 languages - six Indian and six foreign - organised by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

“Kannada should be included. Or else, we all should boycott the programme. The Centre ignores Kannada all the time,” he said.

Despite the anti-Kannada stance of the Centre, the 25 BJP MPs from the state have not raised their voice, he said. “From this, people have to understand that BJP is fundamentally anti-Kannada. If this is not true, then I dare the BJP to correct the mistake (of not including Kannada in the training programme),” Kumaraswamy said.