Mekedatu dam row splits Congress: Tagore slams Shivakumar’s ‘no one can stop it’ remark
The dispute over the proposed Cauvery reservoir has also drawn reactions from the DMK, AIADMK and BJP, ANI reported.
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The Mekedatu dam row has pitted Congress leaders in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against each other. Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said on Friday that no one can stop the project, and Tamil Nadu Congress president Manickam Tagore called the remark “very painful”, ANI reported.
What DK Shivakumar said at the event
Shivakumar was addressing an event in Mysuru in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he sought the Centre’s help in securing clearances for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir, according to ANI. “The Supreme Court has delivered a clear verdict to all of us: that Mekedatu has to be built in Karnataka and no one can stop it,” he said.
He later said Karnataka would protect its right to build the dam while ensuring that Tamil Nadu received 177 TMC of water as mandated by law. He dismissed the criticism as political posturing and said opposition in Tamil Nadu was driven by electoral considerations. “I don’t mind; it is politics there,” he said.
Key numbers
- 177.25 TMC: Tamil Nadu’s legal entitlement of Cauvery water, as cited by Deccan Chronicle.
- 67.15 TMC: the capacity of the dam that Tamil Nadu has opposed, per the same report.
- 4 km: how far above Biligundlu on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border the dam would stand, per the Deccan Chronicle report.
- June: when the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed an anti-Mekedatu resolution, the paper said.
Mekedatu dam: what Manickam Tagore and others said
Tagore said Shivakumar’s statement was “very painful”, ANI reported. Deccan Herald said he accused the Centre of “blatant bias” and urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to intensify legal measures against the project. Building the dam would turn the Cauvery delta into a desert, Tagore said, according to the Deccan Chronicle.
DMK president M K Stalin wrote to Vijay asking him to call an all-party meeting. He pointed out that political parties in Karnataka speak with a single voice on the Cauvery issue, the Deccan Chronicle reported. ANI said the exchange also drew reactions from the DMK, AIADMK and BJP.
Background: the Cauvery water dispute
ANI describes the Mekedatu project as a proposed balancing reservoir on the Cauvery in Karnataka, meant mainly to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs and generate hydroelectric power. Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed it, fearing it could cut flows to downstream areas, particularly the delta districts.
Congress has had other public clashes lately. NIS has covered the Rahul Gandhi phone tapping claim, the Bharat Summit row in Hyderabad and Karnataka’s Supreme Court appeal on the SC/ST quota.
What happens next
Tagore said Tamil Nadu had already approached the Supreme Court on the inter-state dispute. Stalin wants the all-party meeting’s resolutions sent to the Prime Minister with the Assembly’s June resolution. The reports reviewed did not say whether Vijay had agreed to call the meeting. Any Centre clearance for the Mekedatu dam would add a new round to the dispute.
The row puts the Congress on both sides of the Cauvery dispute at a time when Tamil Nadu parties are pressing for a united front against the project. It shows how an interstate water project can split a single party along state lines. The next test is whether the Tamil Nadu government calls an all-party meeting and whether the Centre moves on the clearances Karnataka has asked for.
Named in this story
Sources
- Mekedatu pits Congress against Congress: TNCC chief Manickam Tagore pushes back at Shivakumar's 'no one can stop' remark (ANI)
- TN Congress slams D K Shivakumar's Mekedatu push in presence of PM Modi, urges CM Vijay to take legal actions (Deccan Herald)
- Tamil Nadu: Mekedatu Returns To Political Sphere (Deccan Chronicle)