KODAIKANAL
The Karnataka government should respect the Constitution and the Supreme Court, and violating the judgement of the apex court was highly condemnable, said Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar.
Talking to media persons here on Sunday, he said late Chief Minster Jayalalithaa had restored and protected the rights of the State over the Cauvery water through a legal battle. With the efforts of Chief Minster Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the Cauvery Management Board had become a reality. Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumarasamy might have protested it for political gains. But he would have to abide by the court’s decree and release 177.75 tmc of water to Tamil Nadu. The State government would certainly protect the rights of the people, he added.
Reacting to protests over the eight-lane Salem-Chennai greenfield corridor proposal, he said the State had 2.5 crore vehicles and the number of vehicles would be doubled in a decade. It was necessary to develop infrastructure keeping in mind the future demand. Livelihood of not even a single person would be affected while executing schemes.
The Minister said farmers were not protesting as the government was prepared to offer higher compensation for their lands. To protect the environment, there was a provision in the project to plant three lakh tree saplings, he added.
Reacting to another question, he said: “Those who accused Governor Banwarilal Purohit of acting against the State’s autonomy and interfering in government work met him whenever they faced problems. Those people have been staging protests for everything, causing inconvenience to the public. They also demand the immediate release of detained agitators. Earlier, leaders fought for various needs such as railway stations, bus stands, roads and other such facilities. Now, people are agitating against development,” he said.
To a question on the meeting between actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan and Mr. Kumaraswamy, Mr. Jayakumar said Mr. Kamal Haasan might have met the Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to ensure safe release of his new film Viswaroopam 2.
Coming down heavily on Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, Mr. Jayakumar said the R.K. Nagar MLA was trying to topple the government in collusion with the DMK.