Cauvery dispute: Day after Rajinikanth stands for Tamil Nadu, his posters burnt in Karnataka

Posters of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, who recently announced his political party, were burnt in Karnataka a day after the actor-turned-politician expressed support to Tamil Nadu after the Supreme Court’s verdict on Cauvery, according to Sun News.

@sunnewstamil #Rajinikanth #CauveryVerdict #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/xtzbwrKAbZ

— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) February 17, 2018

Rajinikanth on Friday expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court’s verdict regarding the Cauvery Water Distribution, saying that it would affect the livelihood of thousands of farmers in the state.

He also suggested that the Tamil Nadu government take immediate action to file a review petition.

“The final verdict of the Supreme Court in Cauvery Water Distribution is very disappointing as it affects the livelihood of Tamil Nadu farmers. The Tamil Nadu government should take action to file a review petition,” he tweeted in Tamil.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Saturday expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court verdict reducing the quantum of Cauvery water to be released for Tamil Nadu, but said certain points in the judgment should be welcomed.

Observing no state can claim "exclusive ownership" of inter-state river water, the Supreme Court yesterday hiked Karnataka's share of Cauvery water by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's quantum by an equal amount in its verdict to resolve the decades-old dispute.

However, certain points should be welcomed, he told reporters at the airport here, adding that he cannot comment further on the Supreme Court verdict.

Asserting that the court has confirmed the acreage of Tamil Nadu coming under irrigation, the chief minister said the observation that no state can claim ownership of the river was a welcome one.

About the future course of action, he said it would be decided after discussions with legal experts.

The verdict was the result of a case filed by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the apex court, Palaniswami said.

He also expressed confidence that the Centre will constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board within six week as suggested by the court, a long-pending demand of the state.