Tamil Nadu tries to pour cold Cauvery water over Bangalore IT.biz 2010

Bangalore IT.Biz is already losing its once-touted glory. But it was made worse on Thursday, the opening day of its 13th edition with Cauvery river politics casting its shadow over it.

Union minister for communication and information technology A Raja was conspicuous by his absence, and it was anybody’s guess why. On the eve of the opening of Bangalore IT.Biz 2010, Karnataka refused to release Cauvery water to its neighbouring state Tamil Nadu where Raja hails from and is known to be a close confidant of that state’s chief minister M Karunanidhi.

Raja, a senior leader of the Karunanidhi-led DMK party, was invited to be the chief guest at the event as he is the Union minister holding the portfolio of IT. Instead he chose to be with Karunanidhi when the event opened.

Though officials in the state IT department refused to comment on reasons for Raja’s absence, it was a clear indication of the Cauvery water factor at play. Fears over the Cauvery river water dispute once again straining relations between the two states started emanating with Karunanidhi in Chennai declaring that he would take legal action against Karnataka a day after it refused to release water from the river to Tamil Nadu.