Former CM Yediyurappa attacks Congress govt on Cauvery issue
Says Cong understanding with ally DMK led to 'today's situation'
Bengaluru (PTI): Accusing the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of "failure" on the Cauvery issue after the Supreme Court today refused to interfere in orders to release water to Tamil Nadu, former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday urged it to file a review petition before the apex court.
The BJP leaders' attack on the state government came after the Supreme Court today refused to interfere with orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), directing Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka has been maintaining that it is not in a position to release water, taking into account its own need for drinking water and irrigation for standing crops in the Cauvery basin areas, as there has been water scarcity due to deficit monsoon rains.
"Based on the statistics we (Karnataka) provide, the Supreme Court gives its order. Law and Water Resources departments have completely failed in putting forward the argument effectively. Looking at today's SC order, it proves that the government had gone to the court without doing proper homework, and has failed to provide proper records," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters following the SC order, he said the state government has to speak to Tamil Nadu, where Congress's ally DMK is in power, instead of "unnecessarily" trying to pull the central government into the issue.
"I urge the chief minister to file an appeal before the Supreme Court, bringing the factual ground situation to its notice. Let the Supreme Court send a team and assess the water levels in the reservoirs here, and on the basis of that whatever order they give we are ready to abide by it. The state government should appeal for this," he added.
Noting that the government has committed mistakes one after the other since the Cauvery issue flared up this year, Yediyurappa said that water was released to Tamil Nadu even before the SC order on it.
"I feel that their (Cong govt) understanding (political) with DMK has led to today's situation...whatever has to happen has happened. As SC has also said that it will not interfere with CWMA order, we will be in a fix, because there will be scarcity for drinking water," he said, as he also appealed to people to maintain peace.
The CWMA on Monday asked Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days, after the CWRC made such a recommendation last week.
Alleging the state government failed to understand the importance of the Cauvery issue and neglected it, Bommai said the government should have been cautious as soon as the pre-monsoon failed, but instead they started acting only after the CWMA order came.
Noting that filing a review petition before the SC and ensuring that the quantum of water release is reduced is the only way now, he said the BJP doesn't want to do politics on the Cauvery issue, but it is a fact that the government has failed on it.
Asking the government to take into account the drinking water needs of the entire Cauvery basin districts, and also the standing crops there while making its argument, Bommai, who had earlier served as water resources minister, urged the administration to give Rs 25,000 per acre compensation to farmers for crop damage due to lack of water for irrigation, after a survey.
On the state's Congress government demanding the central government's intervention on the issue, he asked, "When the case is in SC, can any government interfere and do anything?
"They know everything, but to divert the attention they are making such statements."
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BJP's Suvendu urges Bengal Guv to order independent judicial inquiry into Messi event fiasco
Kolkata(PTI): Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to Governor C V Ananda Bose, seeking an independent judicial inquiry into “administrative incompetence” and “public humiliation of citizens”at the Salt Lake Stadium here during an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
In his letter, Adhikari alleged that the stadium, built with public funds, was converted into a “private durbar” for political elites, resulting in humiliation and harassment of spectators who had purchased tickets.
"I write this communication with a profound sense of anguish, constitutional alarm, and moral urgency. What unfolded at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan was not merely an episode of administrative incompetence, it was a public humiliation of citizens, a grotesque exhibition of unrestrained political privilege, and a direct assault on the rule of law in the presence of thousands of witnesses," Adhikari asserted.
He claimed that football fans were denied basic amenities and dignified viewing due to unchecked VIP presence, obstruction of sightlines, and arbitrary restrictions.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Adhikari, in his letter, held the sports department, police authorities and the minister-in-charge of sports and youth affairs responsible, alleging that the situation was “enabled, if not orchestrated”, by the state administration.
He claimed that the conduct of the authorities reflected indifference to public accountability and misuse of power.
The senior BJP leader also took exception to the inquiry committee announced by the chief minister, contending that it lacked independence and credibility.
Adhikari said the panel is headed by Justice (Retd) Asim Ray, who currently holds a statutory post under the administrative control of the state government, and includes senior bureaucrats whose actions are under scrutiny.
"This committee is structurally compromised, legally infirm, and morally indefensible," he said in the letter to the governor.
Adhikari urged Bose to exercise his constitutional authority to order the formation of a truly independent inquiry committee.
He proposed that the committee be headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, and assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity with no institutional, administrative or political affiliation with the state government.
“The issue transcends football, politics, and personalities. It concerns the right of citizens to be treated with dignity, the obligation of the state to act as trustee of public interest, and the duty of constitutional authorities to intervene when the executive becomes a law unto itself,” Adhikari said.
Later, speaking to reporters, he accused the state government of mismanaging the situation at Salt Lake Stadium, and demanded the resignation of the CM.
Adhikari said all those responsible for the fiasco should be arrested, and spectators must be provided refunds.
He alleged that senior Trinamool Congress leaders and their associates crowded around Messi, leaving thousands of fans at the stadium deprived of catching a clear glimpse of the football star.
“This was a case of misuse of power at the cost of ordinary citizens. The chief minister must take moral responsibility, those responsible for the incident should be arrested, and every fan who was cheated must get a refund,” Adhikari asserted.
He added that public anger would not subside without accountability and corrective action.
