'These jokers...' MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar mocks Congress, DMK for seeking PM's help on Cauvery water dispute
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar mocks Congress and the DMK, which are in power in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu respectively for seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to resolve their disputes instead of handling them amongst themselves.
FollowUnion Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday lashed out at the INDIA alliance members Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and mocked them for seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's help to resolve their disputes rather than dealing with them among themselves. Responding to a Twitter post about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin writing to the Prime Minister to instruct Karnataka to release Tamil Nadu's due share of Cauvery water, MoS Chandrasekhar said: "Two dynasty parties, Congress and DMK of the I.N.D.I.A aka UPA who come together only because they hate PM Narendra Modi and want to protect their dynasty -- writing to the PM to ask his help to sort their dispute because they can't solve it themselves. These jokers want voters to think they can solve people's problems when they can't solve their own problems?"
It's worth noting that the ruling party in Karnataka is the Congress. The Siddaramaiah government had previously refused to share Cauvery water with the neighbouring state, citing water shortage caused by deficient rainfall. Recently, Karnataka's agriculture minister and Mandya district in-charge, N Cheluvarayaswamy, pointed out a water crisis in the state and questioned the possibility of releasing water to Tamil Nadu amid such scarcity.
In response to the situation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi, drawing attention to the inadequate rainfall in his state during the Southwest monsoon. Tamil Nadu heavily relies on the release of water from the Mettur reservoir, which depends on the water flow from Karnataka.
Stalin expressed concern that Karnataka has not been honouring the Supreme Court's order to deliver the allocated share of water to Tamil Nadu at Billigundulu, as per the monthly schedule. He pointed out that in the current 2023-2024 water year, Karnataka released only 11.6 TMC of water, while 40.4 TMC was due to Tamil Nadu from June 1 to July 31, 2023. This massive shortfall of 28.8 TMC has significantly impacted Tamil Nadu's water supply, despite Karnataka having substantial storage in its reservoirs.
The water storage in the Mettur Reservoir of Tamil Nadu is critically low, leaving only 26.6 TMC as of August 2, 2023. This limited water availability can sustain the standing Kuruvai crop for just 15 more days, whereas it requires water for another 45 days for maturity and optimal yield.
Stalin emphasized that Tamil Nadu had already raised the issue with the Union Minister for Jal Shakti on July 5 and July 19. Therefore, he urged the Prime Minister to advise Karnataka to release the water due as per the schedule and compensate for the shortfall in June and July. Additionally, he requested the PM to instruct the Ministry of Jal Shakthi to take necessary action to ensure compliance.
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