The sight of Members of Parliament belonging to the AIADMK and the DMK, known for their open antagonism, staging a demonstration jointly on the premises of Parliament on Tuesday to highlight the State’s stand on the Cauvery row came as a surprise to many, both in Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
But, the development, viewed in certain quarters as a “sudden bonhomie,” does not have to be looked at as such, if one were to go by the recent developments relating to the dispute.
Even the idea of an all-party meeting [held on February 22] came originally from the DMK working president M.K. Stalin. Within hours of Mr. Stalin indicating his plan for such a meeting, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that the government itself would conduct one. The DMK leader did not go ahead with his plan.
Days after Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari announced that there was no time-frame for constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), Mr. Palaniswami got in touch with Mr. Stalin and had a meeting.
On Monday evening, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam spoke to the DMK leader in the light of the Central government’s decision to organise a meeting of representatives of the Cauvery basin States this week. Both leaders agreed to wait till the outcome of the meeting, despite Mr. Stalin holding the view that the Central government was “indulging in delaying tactics.”
‘We’ve worked together’
A. Anwhar Raajhaa, senior leader of the AIADMK and Ramanathapuram’s Member of Parliament, says that in recent times, on several occasions, the two parties had come together to highlight the State’s position on various issues. “As Cauvery is a matter of life and death for the State, we have come together. Is this not healthy?” he asked.
R.S. Bharathi, DMK’s organising secretary and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, points out that it is not that Tamil Nadu’s principal parties are oblivious to the fact that regional parties of other States come together and hold agitations in a united manner in Delhi. “We, the DMK and the AIADMK, had worked together when M.G.R. [AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran] was at the helm of affairs.”
