Cauvery Water Management Board
All party meeting to discuss issue: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, June 25: As the centre has notified the Cauvery Water Management Board without consulting Karnataka government, the government has decided to convene an all party meeting to discuss on further steps to be taken.
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy along with Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwar and Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar held a prolonged meeting with the higher officials at the Vidhana Soudha on Monday and discussed the pros and cons of formation of the Board.
DK Shivakumar said that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on June 18 related to formation of the Board and apprised both of them the apprehensions of the state and appealed them solve them.
Speaking to reporters later, Shivakumar said that the Prime Minister had promised of convening a meeting to discuss the issue. But within overnight, the centre has constituted the Board against the interests of the state. “The centre did not hear our grievances. As per the provisions made in the Board, if only six members attend the Board meeting, it is valid and can take decisions. But the state government has opposed this factor. Opinion from the Advocate General and legal experts was taken and it was also decided to convince the Supreme Court on the injustice to be meted out to the state”, he said.
They got the information that the Board meeting would be held on July 2. As there are chances of taking decisions against Karnataka state in the absence of the representatives from the state, it was decided to send Water Resources Department Secretary Rakesh Singh and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited Managing Director HL Prasanna as state’s representatives. Before the next Parliament Session, it was decided to convene an all party leaders meeting to get their suggestions on next steps of the state government, he said.
The state government has already sent a letter to the Centre appointing two officers as the representatives of the state for the Board on June 23. “We are fighting neither with the center nor with the Supreme Court. But we want justice. We appeal the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court for the justice”, Shivakumar said.
As alleged by the Opposition party, the government has not delayed in this issue. It is the work of BJP to make allegation. But Cauvery water dispute is the state issue and he would appeal the Opposition leaders to join hands with the government for the interests of the state, he said.
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Karnataka Governor gives assent to legislation against ‘honour killing’ in inter-caste marriages
Bengaluru: The government has brought into force the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of honour and tradition (Eva Nammava Eva Nammava) Act, 2026, intended to restrict ‘honour killings’ in inter-caste marriages.
According to The Indian Express, the legislation received assent from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on April 9 and was officially notified in the state gazette on April 10. The law had been passed unanimously by the state legislature last month.
The Bill was proposed by the Congress government in the wake of caste-linked ‘honour killings’ in the state, including the December 21, 2025, murder near Hubli of a 20-year-old Lingayat woman by her father for marrying a man from another caste.
The phrase ‘Eva Nammava Eva Nammava’ in the title is in reference to the message of universal humanity that the Lingayat saint Basavanna espoused. Basavanna, who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system, an amalgamation of all castes, used the words meaning ‘he is a part of me’ to say all people are one.
Under the new law, crimes committed in the name of ‘honour’, including murder, assault, threats, and social boycott, are specifically addressed with stringent punishments. ‘Honour killing’ offences carry a minimum imprisonment of five years, while serious assaults attract at least three years in jail.
The new law defines the social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages, refusal to provide services, refusal to provide work, refusal to conduct business, denial of loans and admissions to schools, and makes it punishable.
In the case of ‘honour killings’ per se, the new law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years, and in the case of assaults, a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.
The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, which means police can carry out arrests without court permissions after taking up a case.
The legislation follows several reported inter-caste relationship-related killings in Karnataka in 2025, including cases in Raichur and another involving 18-year-old Kavita.
The law to protect the freedom of choice in marriages is among several social bills that the Congress government has brought out in line with its policies for the backward and downtrodden communities in the state.
