Raise Cauvery dispute with Sonia, Rahul during Delhi visit: Palaniswami to CM Vijay

Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay to raise the Cauvery water dispute with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Delhi on Monday, and seek their intervention against Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam.

In a post on X, Palaniswami condemned Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s repeated assertions that Karnataka had the right to construct the dam and did not require anyone’s permission. Such statements could create divisions between the people of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, he said.

Palaniswami said successive AIADMK governments had pursued legal battles to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s rights over Cauvery water. These efforts, he said, culminated in the Supreme Court’s verdict and the establishment of mechanisms to supervise water sharing and ensure the release of Tamil Nadu’s monthly allocation.

Citing the court’s observations that interstate rivers were national assets over which no state could claim exclusive rights, he contended that Karnataka could not undertake construction affecting downstream states without their consent.

He alleged that Karnataka’s Congress government had neither respected the Supreme Court verdict nor complied with directions governing water releases in the past six months.

Palaniswami also rejected Shivakumar’s argument that the Mekedatu dam was necessary to supply Tamil Nadu its stipulated share under the court’s order.

He claimed that water reaching the Mettur reservoir largely comprised surplus flows discharged when Karnataka’s reservoirs were full, along with rainwater from catchment areas beyond those reservoirs. Karnataka was not releasing water from its dams according to the monthly schedule, he alleged.

Warning against the proposed project, Palaniswami said a dam at Mekedatu would obstruct flows crucial to Tamil Nadu.

The Cauvery sustained agriculture in the delta and supplied drinking water to people across 20 districts, he said. He further accused the Vijay government of failing to secure Tamil Nadu’s allocation through legal measures since assuming office, alleging that the shortfall had affected Kuruvai and Samba cultivation.

Construction of the dam could turn the delta districts into a desert and jeopardise drinking water supplies, he warned.

Palaniswami urged CM Vijay to take up these concerns with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress president, citing Congress’ alliance with the ruling government in Tamil Nadu. He sought their intervention to restrain Karnataka’s statements and ensure compliance with directions on Cauvery water releases.

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