Cauvery dispute with TN: Karnataka to put forth its stand in SC seeking to protect state's interests
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has moved the Supreme Court with its stand stand regarding the release of Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Thursday.
He said the state government will place its argument before the court aimed at protecting the interests of the state and its farmers.
"We have had discussions regarding filing our (state) stand before the Supreme Court's new bench. We have filed an appeal regarding the Cauvery water sharing issue aimed at protecting the interests of the state and its farmers," Shivakumar, who is also in-charge of the Water Resources department, told reporters here.
Responding to a question on taking an all party delegation to the Centre regarding Cauvery and other inter-state water issues like Mahadayi, he said a tentative date will be fixed first and the Prime Minister's office and Jal Shakti Minister's office will be contacted, and on getting their appointment, the delegation will be taken.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will constitute a bench to hear the decades-old dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing Cauvery river water.
Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court earlier this week with a plea to direct Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for standing crops.
Karnataka has been maintaining that it will be able to release water to Tamil Nadu taking into account its needs like drinking water and standing crops in the Cauvery basin areas citing scarcity due to deficit monsoon rains.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday convened an all-party meeting to discuss the inter-state river disputes like Cauvery and Mahadayi.
At the meeting, it was decided to effectively fight a legal battle in the Supreme Court regarding the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, and cooperation was sought from opposition parties about taking an all-party delegation to the Centre, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aimed at resolving inter-state water issues and taking up pending projects.
Noting that the Cauvery matter is once again coming up before the SC on August 25, Siddaramaiah had said the "state's legal team has been asked to ensure that their (TN) petition is rejected and all that is possible should be done to protect the interests of the state."
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
