Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday that the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the only way left for out-of-the-court settlement of the dispute over sharing of the Mahadayi waters through talks between the three riparian states.

“We made all possible efforts for holding talks and wrote letters to Goa chief minister twice. He did not reply to the letter, but Goa water resources minister gave an adamant reply,” he said.

He told mediapersons that Goa is not ready for talks, but Maharashtra chief minister is. BJP leaders should pressure the prime minister for his intervention, he said.

When asked about the row over giving legal sanctity to Kannada flag, Siddaramaiah said a committee to look into its pros and cons was formed after veteran journalist Patil Puttappa and others demanded official status for Kannada flag being used already. The Constitution has not prohibited giving recognition to state flag. A decision in this regard would be taken after the committee submits its report, he said.

The state flag would fly below the national flag, and therefore, it would not be an insult to national sovereignty, national flag or national unity. BJP and JD(S) have no pride about Kannada and they did nothing for the language. They are opposing this because they do not have any other issue, Siddaramaiah said.

He said Assembly elections would not be held earlier than schedule. “We will go to polls on the basis of development works we have taken up, and there is no Narendra Modi or Amit Shah factor,” he said.

We pray for good rainfall in the state and cloud seeding would be conducted in those districts which have not received rainfall, he added.

Modi's intervention only way out of Mahadayi row: CM