Tough Cauvery queries leave AIADMK leaders mum

Chennai: ‘Suicide fame’ AIADMK MP A. Navaneedha Krishnan had a harrowing time at the Chennai airport on Thursday with a few passengers tossing embarrassing questions related to Cauvery.

In the background there was a voice whispering ‘When are you going to commit suicide for Cauvery’.

The AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP on Wednesday created an uproar saying all party MP’s will be driven to ‘extreme step’ if the centre continues to be delay the formation of Cauvery Management Board, while deputy chairman in the Rajya Sabha P J Kurien expunged the remarks by the MP, the MP called several TV journalists to justify the threat he made in the Rajya Sabha.

“Yes I said all AIADMK MPs will commit suicide because that is the situation of our farmers in TN,” he told TV channels and this ‘threat’ went viral causing embarrassing situation for the former advocate general at the city airport, when he was stopped by the journalists to respond on the issue.

The AIADMK leader faced the first sample of the public ire for what many believed to be a mere rhetoric and waste of time. This reflected at the Meenambakkam airport, where co passengers who witnessed the press conference jumped in to the scene and started raising queries on the Cauvery issue. A passenger came forward in the press conference and started throwing a volley of uncomfortable questions to the MP asking him why he was going soft with the Centre. He also asked the MP to sit on a fast at the airport and said that the entire Tamil Nadu will follow him. He also raked up the Neet issue thus doing the job of media.

The visibly embarrassed MP maintained his cool and said that he too was disturbed the same way the public in TN feel and explained the difficulties lying before the state as the Cauvery water dispute and the Neet was on the union list controlled by Centre. The MP however won a few hearts by maintaining stoic silence agreeing with the fellow passengers and later he made an excuse from the charged up audience, who again whispered what can he do, he is just a MP.

On Tuesday, state law minister C. V. Shanmugham also faced a similar situation in which when a scribe pointed that the ruling party maintained similar silence on the Neet issue the senior minister quipped and made a fast exit. AIADMK senior minister D. Jayakumar who regularly meets the press also remained in-door throughout Thursday, avoiding the media limelight, which he usually enjoys.