Modi breaks his silence on Mahadayi dispute

In a bid to assuage the hurt feelings of the farmers of the Malaprabha command area, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday broke his silence on the Mahadayi row and said his government was committed to finding an amicable solution to the inter-State river water sharing dispute through dialogue.

Addressing an election rally on the outskirts of Gadag where farmers from different villages of the district had gathered, Mr. Modi attacked the Congress for “doing politics” over the Mahadayi issue.

He said the Congress was misleading farmers on the issue and chided Chief Minister Siddaramaih for forgetting what Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had told during the Goa elections in 2007. “Let me remind you that the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi had said her party would not allow Mahadayi waters to be diverted to Karnataka. It is because of politics by the Congress that the issue went to the tribunal,” he said.

The Prime Minister said water was everyone’s right and they would sit together to find an amicable solution, taking the riparian States into confidence.

CM’s query to PM

Soon, Mr. Siddaramaiah shot back asking in a tweet why he had not replied to repeated letters from the State seeking that he convene a meeting of all riparian States to resolve the issue.

It may be mentioned here that Karnataka, in an effort to resolve the water row through dialogue as suggested by the tribunal, had earlier appealed to the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of all State heads.

‘PPP Congress’

Mr. Modi, listing out the States where the Congress had been rooted out, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, said after its loss in Karnataka, the Congress would be reduced to PPP (Punjab, Puducherry Parivar ) Congress.

River linking

In water-starved Tumakuru, Mr. Modi assured the people that the BJP government would fulfil the dream of the former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee by linking the rivers of the nation. “If the BJP comes to power in the State, we will link Hemavati and Netravati and supply water to eight districts of central Karnataka region, including Tumakuru,” he said. Referring to Yettinahole and Upper Bhadra projects, he said the two projects have not been completed for the past several years.