Bhubaneswar: A war of words on Sunday ensued between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over the Mahanadi water-sharing dispute following the meeting of chief ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh here on Saturday.

The BJD on Sunday took a dig at the BJP saying that Chhattisgarh should first stop the ongoing construction work of barrages on the river for a fruitful deliberation on the issue. Speaking on the discussions held during the meeting of the chief ministers of both the States, senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya said: “We welcome the discussions on the issue by CMs of both States. If both governments want a fruitful discussion and mutual solution to the issue without hampering the interests of Odisha, then the Chhattisgarh government should immediately stop the ongoing construction of work on various projects and hold discussions.” He also said the BJP, without making any complaints or blaming others, should now work to resolve the Mahanadi water-sharing dispute as there is a triple-engine government in Odisha, the Centre and Chhattisgarh.

He also raised questions on the efforts to resolve the issue through dialogue between the chief ministers as the matter is currently in the tribunal. “The Union government convened a meeting of the representatives of the two States in 2016 to resolve the issue. The Centre held three meetings on the issue. The then CM of Odisha went to the first meeting while skipped the rest two meetings. The previous BJD government moved to a tribunal only to serve its own political interests,” said Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan. Harichandan said the ruling BJP, which was in Opposition then, had warned the BJD government against approaching the tribunal due to its lengthy process. He also said the BJD should stop doing politics on the Mahanadi water dispute as the government will take all the necessary steps to resolve the issue at the earliest keeping in view the interests of Odisha.