Kalasa: Siddaramaiah takes the battle to BJP den
Siddu blames Modi and BJP leaders for the delay in resolving the issue
By : vittal shastri
Update: 2015-09-30 07:30 GMT
Hubballi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah faced the wrath of thousands of farmers over the Mahadayi water dispute during his visit to the twin cities on Tuesday. In an attempt to defuse the tension, he passed the blame onto Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders in the state for the delay in resolving the row over Kalasa-Banduri project. Terming Mr Modi’s demand that Congress leaders in Goa be persuaded over the issue as unjustifiable, he told reporters here on Tuesday that the state government will file an interim application before the Mahadayi tribunal within two days to seek utilisation of 7.56 tmc of water for drinking purpose.
Lambasting state BJP leaders, Mr Siddaramaiah said that the meeting of the Prime Minister with an all-party delegation had ended in failure as these leaders failed to cooperate. He also said that BJP leaders did not speak during the meeting and Mr Modi had acted the way he did after listening to their suggestions. Referring to the intervention made by former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee in resolving the water, language and boundary disputes between two states, he said that it was the sole responsibility of Mr Modi to convene the meeting of Chief Ministers to find a solution to the Mahadayi dispute. He also urged state MPs to exert pressure on the Central government on the issue.
“I do not know whether Sonia Gandhi had opposed diversion of Mahadayi water to Malaprabha river. But, she is not Prime Minister to convene the meeting of Chief Ministers to resolve the issue. I have never seen Prime Ministers like Narendra Modi who wanted Congress leaders to convince their party leaders in Goa and Maharashtra. The state government is making all efforts for early implementation of Kalasa-Banduri project, we will call an all-party meet again to chalk out our future course of action,” the CM said.
Speaking after inaugurating Krishi Mela at University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad, he said that the State government is contemplating waiving off interest on loans taken by farmers due to severe drought conditions. He also said the Central government has a greater role to play in waiving loans taken by farmers from nationalised and scheduled banks.
Siddu is lying: Shettar
Terming CM Siddaramaiah a ‘big liar,’ Opposition leader Jagadish Shettar said the CM, instead of tackling problems faced by the state, was trying to point fingers at Prime Minister Narendra Modi blaming him for all the failures in Karnataka. Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Mr Shettar said Mr Siddaramaiah’s claim that Mr Modi had responded negatively when an all-party delegation met him to discuss the Mahadayi issue, was itself a big lie.
“I have been part of 5-6 all-party delegations to various Prime Ministers. No one had given us more than 15 minutes time. However, Mr Modi gave us a full hour. After listening to the state’s plea, he said that just a meeting of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra CMs may not yield the desired results. Instead, he advised Mr Siddaramaiah to hold talks with the Goa and Maharashtra governments as well as opposition leaders so that the stage could be set for the meeting. After the meeting, Congress leaders claimed the PM had rejected their demands which was wrong,”he said.
“Mr Modi never said he was against Karnataka getting water. In 2007, it was Mrs Sonia Gandhi, who had promised Goa that she would not allow even a single drop of Mahadayi water to be made available to Karnataka. The Congress should first convince her over the issue, then point fingers at Mr Modi,” he said.