Dharwad: A statement made by former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Goa Dinesh Gundurao has triggered quite a storm in Karnataka. During his visit to the neighbouring state on Saturday, Dinesh’s statements on the dispute over the sharing of River Mahadayi’s waters, have triggered extreme reactions in both Karnataka and Goa. There were allegations that Dinesh said that he would stand by the decision taken by the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) on the dispute. However, Dinesh dismissed these allegations, claiming that his remarks had been distorted. However, politicians and some section of the public have raised questions about his commitment to Karnataka.
A Panaji-based newspaper quoted Dinesh as having said, “This (the Mahadayi dispute) is a sensitive issue concerning three states, all of whom have approached the Inter-State Water Dispute Tribunal. We (Karnataka) have also moved the Supreme Court. This is a dispute that must be decided in the apex court and by the tribunal.”
The AICC general secretary had also opined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who ought to have mediated between the three states and resolved the dispute, had not done so.
Incidentally, while Dinesh is being criticised for allegedly ‘betraying’ Karnataka, activists of the Progressive Front of Goa (PFG) have also condemned his remarks and warned him of protests should he enter the state again. The activists said that each state involved in the dispute would fight for its rights.
Union minister and Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi, meanwhile, charged Dinesh of ‘betraying’ Karnataka, while Dharwad district in-charge minister Jagadish Shettar recalled a statement made by AICC president Sonia Gandhi, wherein she had stated that not a single drop of Mahadayi would be allowed to flow to Karnataka. “Congress leaders are akin to chameleons. They say one thing while in Karnataka, and something else when in Goa,” Shettar told TOI.
However, Dinesh, in a tweet on Sunday, sought to clear the air over the controversy. He made it plain that he had never said that he would support the GPCC’s stance on the dispute. Those statements, he said, had been distorted. However, Dinesh stood by his remarks concerning PM Modi, stating that he had not resolved the inter-state dispute.