Cauvery water row: Karnataka to hold joint assembly session to discuss SC order

Unrelenting in its position despite the fresh Supreme Court order to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka government will convene a legislature session on Monday, the second recently, to take a call on the apex court directive.

Refusing to budge from its stand a day after the Supreme Court gave the “last opportunity” to comply with its order, the state questioned the constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board and decided to file a review petition in this regard on Monday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah spelt out the state’s stand to reporters after an all-party meeting convened by him told the government not to release “at any cost” 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as directed by the Supreme Court, and to oppose the formation of the Board.

“All-party meeting has told us not to release the water.  We have to go back to the legislature,” Siddaramaiah said, adding “as far as release of water (is concerned), we will go back to the Assembly on Monday.”

He emphasised that a special session of both the Houses of the state legislature had on September 23 mandated through a resolution that water should be used only for drinking purpose, and not be spared for any other use.

Siddaramaiah said the state would also question the formation of the water management board, for which the Supreme Court had set 4 PM of Saturday as the deadline for the riparian states to give the names of their representatives. “That we are questioning. That is why we are filing the review petition on Monday.”

Taking Karnataka to task for its repeated “defiance” by flouting its orders on release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and giving it a last chance, the Supreme Court had on Friday asked it to discharge 6,000 cusecs from October 1 to 6, warning no one would know when the “wrath of the law” would fall on it.

The court had also directed the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board by October 4.

“We have not defied the orders of the Supreme Court...  There is no wilful disobedience or deliberate disobedience,” Siddaramaiah said, adding the legislature session was binding on the government.