“Talking To Legal Experts Should Have Been Done Long Ago”: Former Karnataka CM Bommai On Cauvery Water Row

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday slammed the Siddaramaiah government and said that the state government seemed to be getting wisdom after committing a bundle of mistakes over the Cauvery water issue and now it was talking to farmers and legal experts.

He said that talking to legal experts should have been done long ago.

Talking to reporters here, he said, “There was no coordination between the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister. However, the lack of coordination between the Home Minister and top brass of the department had been established. The state has now initiated a legal battle. The work of talking to legal experts should have been done long ago. At least now, the government must honestly fight the case and see to it that no anti-State orders were issued in the coming days.”

The former CM said the government must have held talks with legal luminaries and farmers. “It should have consulted a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Shivraj Patil in regard to land, water and borders of Karnataka. There are other legal experts with whom the government should have held talks,” he said.

Former CM Bommai said that it was a tragedy to have such a government when the state was reeling from drought.

“Several districts in the North Karnataka region are reeling under drought. However, the state government was pointing its fingers towards the Union Government to pay compensation to the affected farmers. When unprecedented floods ravaged the North Karnataka region last time, the then BJP Government distributed relief. The current government was acting on the contrary,” he said.

Responding to a question about a person wielding the sword participating in the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession in Kolar, Bommai said, “Such things happen depending upon which party is in power. Now there is no fear in the minds of goons and troublemakers, and they are free to roam like this,” he added.

Hours after Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directed Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to its neighbouring Tamil Nadu every day until October 15, state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with retired judges of the Supreme Court and others on September 29.

In the meeting with the retired judges of the top court, irrigation experts, and former Advocate Generals over the Cauvery River water-sharing issue, state Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was also present.