Cauvery still on the boil; CM calls for all-party meet

Chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Thursday called for an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the Cauvery issue. This comes in the wake of the failure of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, wherein prime minister Manmohan Singh, while chairing the meeting, directed the state to release 9,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu till October 15.

Since Singh’s direction was not agreeable to Karnataka, and with Tamil Nadu deciding on moving the Supreme Court, Shettar said he would discuss the future course of action at the all-party meeting. Shettar reportedly walked out of the CRA meeting after expressing dissatisfaction over the prime minister’s directive to release water.

An invitation to attend the all-party meeting has been extended to all the floor leaders in the legislative council and assembly.
Shettar on Thursday met governor HR Bhardwaj at Raj Bhavan to brief him about the CRA meeting and the state’s stand on the issue.

Meanwhile, farmers associations have strongly reacted to the CRA’s directive. Karnataka State Farmers Association president KS Puttanaiah stated that the state leaders should not compromise on the issue.

“The ruling BJP leaders should resign from their posts if the situation demands,” he said.

Activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike staged protests at Bangalore City Railway Station and Yeshwanthpur railway station by stopping Chennai-bound trains for a few minutes.