CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu minister C T R Nirmal Kumar on Sunday rejected the demand for an all-party meeting on the Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka, saying the issue had already been discussed in detail and the Assembly had adopted a resolution with the support of all political parties. His remarks came after the DMK, AIADMK, PMK and VCK sought an all-party meeting to discuss the inter-state river dispute. The minister also accused DMK president M K Stalin and Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar of acting together in a manner that, he alleged, was detrimental to Tamil Nadu’s interests in the Cauvery dispute. Speaking to the media, Nirmal Kumar said, “In our Legislative Assembly, a resolution was passed unanimously with the support and participation of all political parties. They all nodded along and supported the resolution unanimously.” “Everything regarding that resolution was debated right there. If there was opposition to be voiced, it could have been raised right then. They supported only after listening to everything, didn’t they? Wasn’t everyone given an equal opportunity to speak? Everyone spoke,” he said. Questioning the opposition’s demand for a fresh meeting, Kumar referred to the AIADMK’s legal challenge to the Assembly resolution and alleged that the DMK subsequently approached the Supreme Court on the same issue. “Then why, just four days ago, did they (AIADMK) file a petition in the High Court challenging the very resolution they had supported? The moment they filed a case in the High Court, the DMK filed a petition in the Supreme Court two days later. Who ultimately suffers because of all this? It is the people of Tamil Nadu. Under the guise of creating trouble for the chief minister, they are acting against the interests of the public,” he said. “Under such circumstances, how can you expect us to invite these very people to an all-party meeting,” he added. Kumar further alleged that the DMK’s “hasty” move to approach the Supreme Court had created unnecessary confusion over the state’s legal strategy. “Yesterday morning, after completing consultations with various stakeholders, the CM decided that we must file a case in the Supreme Court regarding this issue. By afternoon, our Supreme Court counsel, Umapathy, announced the decision, outlined the filing strategy after concluding all discussions, and initiated the process.” “While it was being processed, the DMK hastily filed their petition after 5 PM. It creates confusion when multiple petitions on the same issue are filed from the same state. What have they done over the last five years? Has the DMK filed even a single petition on this matter before this,” he said. The minister said Karnataka had maintained a united stand on withholding Cauvery water, while political parties in Tamil Nadu remained divided over the strategy to secure the state’s share. “In Karnataka, everyone remains united on a single stance. They are adamant about not releasing water to us, and there are no two opinions on that among them. However, when it comes to our approach, how are we going to reclaim our rights? On one hand, there is the court, on the other, there are diplomatic channels. Yet, beyond all this, political parties here remain divided on the exact strategy to pursue,” he said. Commenting on reports that 12,000 cusecs of water had been released from the Kabini reservoir to Tamil Nadu, Kumar said the quantity was inadequate for the state’s requirements. “We need to get 17 TMC water from Karnataka”, he added. The remarks came days after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) rejected Karnataka’s request and upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) recommendation directing the release of 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. Kumar also alleged that the DMK and Shivakumar shared a long-standing political understanding, claiming the Karnataka chief minister consistently gave preference to Stalin. Claiming that the DMK maintained a close, cordial relationship with Shivakumar, the minister said, “Their political stances appear closely aligned.” He further levelled allegations of political horse-trading, claiming Bengaluru had been used as a financial base to facilitate the alleged purchase of MLAs. “Bengaluru served as a financial safe haven for DMK to orchestrate MLA buyouts.” “Regarding the case involving the purchase of our MLAs, most of the money was seized in Bengaluru, and the majority of the funds originated from there,” he said.
