Cauvery row: Karnataka deputy CM hits back at Congress

Hitting back at Congress for attacking the government over Cauvery issue, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa on Sunday accused it of politicising the matter and adopting double standards.

Defending the release of water to Tamil Nadu from September 12 to 19 as a goodwill gesture, he said the decision was taken after legal opinion.

He charged the Congress with politicising the issue by first welcoming the decision of Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.

"The Congress also supported Shettar over his walkout during the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) meeting, but now it is contending that he should have sat through the meeting. The Congress is resorting to double standards," Eshwarappa said.

Senior Congress leaders on Sunday had slammed the BJP Government for 'committing' a series of lapses in presenting the state's case before the Supreme Court and the Cauvery tribunal and trying to cover up its mistakes by blaming the Prime Minister, who heads the CRA.

If the Congress continued to play such "dirty politics", people of the state would teach a lesson to it, he said.

He also criticised the Prime Minister for not meeting Karnataka delegation.