PM's assurance to Goa on Mahadayi is another 'jumla': Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘assurance’ on Thursday to look after the interests of Goa, in the context of the ongoing inter-state dispute with Karnataka over the waters of the Mahadayi river, is only a “pre-election jumla” aimed at wooing voters ahead of the upcoming Zilla Panchayat elections, state Congress president Girish Chodankar alleged on Friday.

Chodankar also said, that both the state and the Central governments, headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, had betrayed Goa’s cause in the two-decade-old inter-state dispute between the two states.

“This is another jumla to woo voters for the forthcoming Zilla Panchayat elections. The art of fooling people is mastered by the BJP, and the visit of the chief minister to Delhi is part of the same,” Chodankar told reporters.

“The Centre has completely betrayed Goa on various issues. We demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make a public statement with categorical information on what he has promised to the chief minister of Goa in the interest of the state. PM can use his Twitter handle to make the statement as he avoids to speak to media,” Chodankar also said.

The Congress’ charge comes a day after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met Modi in the national capital, where the former said that several issues, including the Mahadayi inter-state water dispute, were also discussed.

“The Prime Minister has assured his continued support and co-operation for Goa’s cause,” the Goa chief minister tweeted after the meeting.

The BJP-led coalition government has been on the backfoot, ever since the Central government, following a Supreme Court directive, notified the award given by the Mahadayi Inter-state Water Dispute Tribunal, making the coast clear for the Karnataka government to start construction of the disputed Kalasa-Banduri dam project, which aims to divert water from the Mahadayi basin to the deficit basin of the Malaprabha river.

The Mahadayi issue is also expected to factor in the upcoming Zilla Panchayat elections, with the Opposition blaming Sawant as well as the BJP-led central government for “betraying” Goa’s cause.