Bangalore: Hitting back strongly at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa,
Karnataka government on October 6 accused her of being a "hardliner" and described
her calling the state government conduct as "rouguish" as "undoubtedly provocative",
saying it has a "dangerous potential".
"Hardliners like Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu are responsible for complicating the
Cauvery Water Dispute," Karnataka Water Resources Minister H K Patil said, giving
the state's response, a day after she made an acerbic attack on state government and
sought its dismissal in case of "continued intransigence and recalcitrance" on
Cauvery issue.
Saying the comments of Jayalalithaa were "unfortunate and unbecoming of a Chief
Minister of the state", he told reporters the "comity of states" required the Chief
Minister of a lower riparian state to use a dignified language.
Asserting that the Karnataka government by discharging its duty in upholding the
interest of the farmers whose crops were standing in about 5.9 lakh acres had not
committed any offence or misconduct, he said it was also incorrect to say that it
had been using standing crop as a "pretext" to hold waters in the reservoir.
Her demand for dismissal of Karnataka government was "in bad taste and politically
motivated" and an attempt to make a false propaganda against the state, he
said. "The language she has used betrays her pettiness."
"You store water but we will use it" seemed to the attitude of Jayalalithaa, Patil
said, saying it could have worked under "British imperialism" but there was no scope
for it now nor was it fair to adopt such an attitude.
"Jayalalithaa should know what her state has done. In 1960s and 1970s, Tamil Nadu
government has grossly and unilaterally violated the so called agreement of 1924 and
expanded irrigated area from around 16 lakh acres to 28 lakh acres, and in
particular the Kurvai rice crop was expanded from 1,65,000 acres to 6 lakh acres,"
Patil said.
Terming "this illegal expansion" and appropriation of Cauvery waters as "nothing but
a fraud" on the co-riparian state of Karnataka, he said this had been the root cause
of the problem to which Jayalalithaa was trying to find fault with Karnataka.
Karnataka government, he said, had in its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court
on September 21 clarified the matter on water releases and also justified its action
that the suspension of flows from September 19 were justified in view of the
dwindling inflows and heightening tension in the Cauvery basin area.
The matter was before the Supreme Court and therefore it was "not permissible for
anyone to discuss the same or pass any judgments on it", Patil said.
Justifying the "padayatra" by Chief Minister from October 7 to the Cauvery basin
districts of Mandya and Mysore, he said it was only to appeal to people to be
peaceful.
"It is reading too much into it," he said, when asked about the charge that the
Yatra was to pave way for dissolution of the Assembly and to help Congress in the
subsequent elections.
PTI
