Search the Internet          Tips

Karnataka does not playing fair on Cauvery issue: Jayalalithaa

She accused the Karnataka chief minister of coming to the meeting on Tuesday night 'determined' not to release water to Tamil Nadu.

Complaining that Karnataka released water only when its four reservoirs were overflowing, she demanding that Tamil Nadu not be treated as a 'drainage outlet'.

"Water should be given to us when we need it, and if there is a crisis, it has to be shared," she said.

Jayalalithaa, who had walked out of the Cauvery River Authority's meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday night, told reporters in Delhi that she attended the meeting in accordance with the directive of the Supreme Court.

The apex court had asked the CRA to meet and take an appropriate decision on sharing of the river waters and report back to it by September two.

"We expect justice from the Supreme Court," she added.

As a long term measure, Jayalalithaa said the Centre must nationalise all inter-state rivers and ensure that the provisions of the Tribunal's awards were adhered to.

She said the prime minister and Water Resources Minister Arjun Sethi repeatedly asked Krishna to categorically spell out how much water his state would release to Tamil Nadu to which Krishna said he would think about it only after September end.

Jayalalithaa said she walked out only after Krishna announced that no water would be released to Tamil Nadu arguing that it was not obligatory for the CRA to convey any decision to the apex court by September two.

She denied Sethi's statement on the CRA asking the Monitoring Committee to work out a distress formula within a fortnight was unanimous.

Criticising Krishna's attitude, Jayalalithaa said, "The Karnataka chief minister is trying to obfuscate the issue."

After four meetings, including the one on Tuesday, the CRA had been unable to fulfil the objective for which it was set up in 1998.

She complained that the ongoing dispute had already ruined the kurvai (kharif) crop and indicated that the state now needed water for the samba (rabi) crop.

With time running out, Tamil Nadu is left with no option but to approach the Supreme Court, she said.

More reports on Tamil Nadu

Tell us what you think of this report