Mekedatu row: Palaniswami lashes out at Cong, DMK, dubs Stalin a 'puppet CM'

CHENNAI: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday lashed out at the ruling Congress in Karnataka and the DMK in Tamil Nadu over the neighbouring state pushing for the construction of the contentious Mekedatu reservoir and the Stalin-led government not putting up a resistance to protect the interests of the state.

Palaniswami especially came down hard on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, charging him with not fiercely opposing Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar's assertion that the balancing reservoir would be built on river Cauvery at Mekedatu in the neighbouring state.

Tamil Nadu is opposed to the construction of the dam, saying its prospects will be hurt, and also insists that its consent is required to implement the project.

Palaniswami, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, said that due to his previous government's efforts in 2018, the Mekedatu issue was never discussed in the meetings of the Cauvery Management Authority (CMA).

The CMA had said that Tamil Nadu's consent was required for the project, and the state would intervene in the matter as the reservoir is proposed to come up on the Cauvery river bed, he stated.

''Following this, the Mekedatu issue remained calm till May this year. But, after the Congress government came in Karnataka (in May), Deputy CM Shivakumar is blowing up the matter saying the dam will certainly be constructed,'' the AIADMK chief said in a statement.

He said that soon after the Congress formed the government in that state, Shivakumar had asked his officials to expedite the matter. The deputy CM had recently written to the Union Jal Shakti Minister also on the issue, Palaniswami said.

''I had then itself expressed my strong criticism of the Karnataka government. Had the puppet chief minister Stalin of the DMK government given a befitting reply to Shivakumar then (in May when Shivakumar first flagged the matter), he would not have done so today,'' Palaniswami said in an apparent reference to the Karnataka leader raising the issue of the dam with the Centre.

Palaniswami alleged that the DMK ''cedes Tamil Nadu's rights'' whenever in power, and cited the Cauvery and Katchatheevu issues to buttress his claim.

He slammed Stalin for remaining ''silent'' over the Cauvery issue and demanded a strong response from him personally, besides urging him to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the 38 Lok Sabha MPs belonging to the DMK-led coalition to prevent Karnataka from going ahead with the Mekedatu dam. The AIADMK will go through the necessary struggles to prevent Tamil Nadu from ''turning into a desert,'' the former chief minister added.

Mekedatu is a multi-purpose drinking water and power project proposed by Karnataka, which involves building a balancing reservoir near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district. Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project, raising apprehensions that the state would be affected if the project takes shape.

The project, once completed, is aimed at ensuring drinking water supply to Bengaluru and neighbouring areas (4.75 TMC). It also can generate 400 MW power. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore.