Opposition calls for TN bandh on April 5 on Cauvery issue

The all-party meeting convened by the DMK has given a call for a state-wide bandh on April 5 to condemn “the failure of the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) as per the Supreme Court direction and the indifference of the AIADMK government.

Calling upon political parties, farmers associations, traders, students and youth to support the bandh, the meeting resolved to hold a Cauvery Rights Retrieval March from the Cauvery Delta region to the Raj Bhavan in the next phase. It has also decided to organise a black flag protest during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu.

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TN files for contempt against Centre

Accusing the AIADMK government of having a hand-in-glove agreement with the Centre and betraying the interests of of the State, the meeting chaired by DMK working president M.K. Stalin said it had miserably failed to utilise the support offered by the Opposition parties on the issue.

“Even though the AIADMK had 50 MPs in Parliament it failed to bring pressure on the Centre and it also could not get an appointment with the Prime Minister for the all party delegation from Tamil Nadu. It did not have the courage to file contempt petition when the Union Water Resources Minister spoke against the Supreme Court order. It has filed a petition only after the Centre sought three months time,” the resolution alleged.

The meeting said the AIADMK government was fully responsible for Tamil Nadu losing all its rights on the Cauvery water dispute. “It has surrendered itself to the communal BJP and became an inseparable partner,” the resolution added.