"BJP, JD(S) doing politics...": Karnataka Dy CM Shivakumar on Cauvery water-sharing issue

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) JD(S) of 'doing politics' on the Cauvery water-sharing issue.

Speaking to reporters in Karnataka's Bengaluru, Shivakumar said, "Whatever water is there, we have released. We had to store it for drinking water...Without storing the safe water for drinking, it would have been very difficult."

"BJP and JD(S) are doing politics on this issue, they are known for it. They could not resolve this issue when they had an opportunity, but for us the state is important," he added.

Earlier on Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the central government has not given permission for the Mekedatu Project and Tamil Nadu people are creating disputes unnecessarily.

In a series of posts on X, Karnataka CM said “The BJP government at the centre has not given permission to the Mekedatu project and Tamil Nadu has no right to bring on dispute this project. 177.25 TMC water allocated to the state should be released to Tamil Nadu in normal years. It is said that in the time of hardship, the Sutra of hardship should be followed. But the people of Tamil Nadu are creating disputes unnecessarily.”

Siddaramaiah further said that Tamil Nadu BJP leaders should appeal to the Cauvery Water Management Authority to give permission to the Mekedatu project as it is under the central government.

Earlier former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said that the Karnataka government needs to be firm in its stand and should stop sharing water with Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court seeking direction to Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of water daily per day from the reservoirs in Karnataka.

Karnataka government also filed an affidavit opposing Tamil Nadu’s application saying that the application is based on an assumption that this year is the normal rainwater year.

The Supreme Court had said that it doesn’t possess any expertise on this issue and sought a report from the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on the quantum of release made by Karnataka.

Posting the Cauvery River water-sharing issue for hearing later, a bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra asked CWMA, which met on August 28, to decide release of water for next fortnight in the Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The matter has been a controversial issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for decades and they have been locked in battle over the sharing of water from the Cauvery river, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for millions of people in the region.

The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry with respect to the water-sharing capacities.