Karnataka not in a position to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu now, says DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the state now is not in a position to release Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, due to lack of rains in the river basin region.
Noting that currently Cauvery water is not flowing to Tamil Nadu from the state, he said Karnataka officials at the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) will make a plea to at least to save water for drinking.
"On the Cauvery issue, our officials are currently participating in the meeting. We have had no rains, there is no water, we will make them (CWMA) aware of this fact. We will tell them there is no water, the situation is difficult to even provide drinking water...please permit us to at least to save water for drinking, this is our plea before the authority," Shivakumar, who is also the Water Resources Minister, said.
"Water is not going (to Tamil Nadu) now...there is no rain. All of you pray for rain," he said.
The CWMA had earlier directed Karnataka to release 5,000 cusec water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from August 29, based on the recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC).
Tamil Nadu has also approached the Supreme Court with a plea to direct Karnataka to release Cauvery water for the standing crops. According to sources, the case may come up before SC next week.
Shivakumar said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his appointment to lead an all-party delegation to discuss with him regarding Cauvery river water dispute and other issues concerning the state. "As soon as we get the appointment we will go."
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
