Bangalore: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on November 4 said that only the Prime Minister A B Vajpayee could defuse the Cauvery crisis between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu by taking a reasonable decision based on facts urgently.

Gowda, speaking to reporters, strongly urged Vajpayee, also chairman of Cauvery River Authority (CRA), to convene an emergent meeting of the CRA to have a fresh look at the situation and take appropriate decision.

He appealed to the Prime Minister to send the monitoring committee to both states on a fact-finding mission.

"Only the Prime Minister can defuse the crisis and save the situation. He (Vajpayee) has to take a favourable decision to help us. A reasonable decision based on facts," Gowda said.

The Prime Minister's decision must be accepted by all the contending parties, he stressed.

Karnataka must demonstrate that it's honouring Supreme Court's directives on Cauvery, and should not give an impression that the state is defying the apex court's orders, he emphasised.

It's clear from the deferment of contempt proceedings against Chief Minister S M Krishna that the Supreme Court is watching the state's conduct, Gowda observed.

He cautioned that Karnataka must ensure that its previous conduct does not influence the final verdict of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, expected in the next few months.

Meanwhile, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) demands that all cases booked against agitating farmers over the Cauvery issue must be dropped by the government, Gowda said.

PTI