Cauvery protest: Cong govt is Tamil Nadu's agent, says Yediyurappa

BENGALURU: Karnataka unit of BJP on Saturday staged a protest here against the Congress government's move to release water to Tamil Nadu.

Addressing the agitators, former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka has become Tamil Nadu's agent.

"The Congress, which was supposed to protect the interest of the state, is acting like an agent of Tamil Nadu. The ministers of the state are issuing statements as if they are agents of Tamil Nadu," Yediyurappa attacked.

The state government had released water before the order of the Supreme Court. The farmers are pushed into crisis. Let Tamil Nadu send a team of experts to Karnataka, they will know the crisis here, he said.

Knowing well that there is no storage of water in state reservoirs, the water released day and night to Tamil Nadu neglecting the interests of the state. This is just a symbolic protest. In the coming days the protest will be launched with more intensity in the state. All MLAs and MPs will together come into the agitation, Yediyurappa stated.

Former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy has stated that the state should not release a drop of water to Tamil Nadu. The Congress government should stop acting like an agent of Tamil Nadu and file a petition before the Supreme Court. They must efficiently present the views, he stated.

Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that there is an easy way to solve the Cauvery issue. "Write a letter to your friend Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin. The intervention of Sonia Gandhi will also benefit the state. Mr Siddaramaiah asked Sonia Gandhi to hold a meeting with CM Stalin and him," he alleged.

Former DyCM Govind Karajol, former Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, MLAs K. Gopalaiah, Ravi Subramanya, C.K. Ramamurthy, Uday Grudachar and MP P.C. Mohan took part in the protest.

The protestors raised slogans chiding CM Siddaramaiah that he is CM of Tamil Nadu. They also shouted that DyCM Shivakumar is DyCM for Tamil Nadu.

The police took custody of all BJP leaders who took part in the protest and released them later.