Chennai: DMK president M K Stalin on Saturday accused chief minister C Joseph Vijay of weakening Tamil Nadu’s position in the Cauvery dispute by refusing to convene an all-party meeting and pursuing bilateral talks with Karnataka.Stalin said Vijay’s “go-it-alone” approach had left him politically isolated after Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar deferred their proposed meeting in Bengaluru. “He wanted to go solo and now stands isolated. Karnataka’s chief minister has instead convened an all-party meeting after cancelling the Tamil Nadu CM’s visit,” Stalin said in a post on X.He said Tamil Nadu protected its Cauvery rights over the years through legal and institutional mechanisms rather than bilateral talks. Karnataka, he alleged, repeatedly denied Tamil Nadu its rightful share and treated the lower riparian state merely as an outlet for surplus water.Vijay’s Bengaluru visit was deferred after Shivakumar cited an unconducive atmosphere following the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s direction to Karnataka to release water at the rate of 3,500 cusecs daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. Pointing out that Karnataka had convened an all-party meeting on Sunday to present a united front, Stalin asked when Vijay would hold a similar consultation in Tamil Nadu to formulate a strategy for safeguarding the state’s interests.VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan and TMC leader G K Vasan also demanded an all-party meeting. “Our chief minister must immediately convene an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu issue. It is essential and the need of the hour,” the VCK chief said.
