Hubballi/Bengaluru​: Stating that he had made an honest effort to get an assurance from Goa for release of Mahadayi water with the help of the BJP high command, party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure speedy implementation of the Kalasa Banduri project by seeking the intervention of AICC president Rahul Gandhi.
Urging farmers, who are now staging a dharna in front of the BJP office in Bengaluru, to shift their venue to the residence of the Chief Minister, he alleged that it is the Congress party which has hatched a conspiracy against release of water. Speaking in Haveri on Sunday, he also said that the Chief Minister is making baseless charges against him as he is unable to digest the public support for the BJP’s Parivarthana Yathra.
“The Goa Chief Minister has promised to release water for drinking purposes despite opposition from Congress leaders in that state. But, Siddaramaiah has become irresponsible and has charged us with playing a drama in connection with the Mahadayi water dispute. He is playing with the lives of drought-hit farmers of Malaprabha river basin”, Yeddyurappa said.
Accusing the Congress of failing to resolve the Mahadayi row when the UPA was in power at the Centre, he said an amicable solution can be found to these disputes and Karnataka can witness growth only if Bharatiya Janata Party is power both in the State and at the Centre.
He assured that all pending irrigation projects will be put on the fast track by getting adequate funds from the Central government. The BJP veteran also alleged that the CM had given a contract to multinational companies for publicity for the Congress party ahead of the Assembly elections. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who was in Hubballi, said that people of Karnataka should get rid of the Congress which was most corrupt.
He also alleged that Karnataka was indirectly extending financial support to the Congress party.
“The law and order situation in the state has totally collapsed, no action has been taken against rapists and killers of Hindu activists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is releasing more funds for development and welfare schemes but the Karnataka government is not utilizing it properly”, Chouhan said.
Farmers’ stir continues in Bengaluru​
As the Mahadayi agitation entered the 894th day on Sunday, agitating farmers, who have been demanding the release of water from Mahadayi River, have launched a satyagraha outside the BJP state office in Malleswaram.
Over 500 farmers from Hubballi-Dharwad, Nargund, Navalgund, Badami, Ron and Gadag landed in Bengaluru on Saturday and are staging a silent protest outside the BJP office. The farmers expressed their disappointment over the tone of Goa CM Manohar Parrikar’s letter to state BJP president B. S. Yeddyurappa on the Mahadayi water sharing issue.
On Sunday, the farmers stated that they would not stop their protest until Mr Yeddyurappa sits down to discuss their issues with them. They have now called for an indefinite dharna. “We want to ensure that everyone working on this issue realises that a resolution can be arrived at only if the three state governments sit down for talks. Mr Yeddyurappa had promised us that he would resolve the issue a few months back. Now, he has disappointed us,” Karnataka Raita Sene president, Viresh Sobaradhmath, told reporters here on Sunday.
When news about the protesters who include women carrying infants, sleeping on the footpath on Saturday night, spread, civil rights organizations offered them blankets. Early in the morning, several organizations offered them tea, biscuits and bread which was accepted by the farmers. Later, the women were seen cooking breakfast on the roadside itself.
