CHENNAI: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday defended his proposal to visit Bengaluru for direct talks with counterpart D K Shivakumar over the Cauvery Water dispute and Mekedatu issue. He questioned why two neighbouring states couldn’t sit at the negotiating table when even warring nations manage to hold dialogues.Replying to a special calling-attention motion over the long-standing Cauvery water-sharing dispute and Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam, the CM made it clear that his govt would never compromise on TN’s riparian rights, asserted that it would continue its legal battle aggressively.Seeking to neutralise political criticism over his planned visit to Karnataka, Vijay dubbed the outreach as a “constructive effort” to break a decades-old deadlock.“When enemy countries hold talks to resolve disputes, what is wrong with neighbouring states holding discussions? I saw it as a positive step towards resolving the problem,” Vijay said. “Even if I had to face humiliation in that attempt, I was prepared to do so for the sake of the people of Tamil Nadu.”He thanked political parties and supporters who backed his move, reiterating that the Cauvery remains the state’s emotional lifeline and asserting that his government had “no intention to play politics” over the crucial water issue.Refusing to yield ground on the Mekedatu project, Vijay recalled that following a unanimous Assembly resolution opposing the dam, the state government had directly petitioned the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.He highlighted that after realizing the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti had “not presented the full facts,” over Mekedatu issue, his govt wrote to PM Modi again. Citing specific mandates from the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s final order and the Supreme Court judgment in 2018, the state urged the Union govt to deny Karnataka both administrative and technical clearances.Recalling the issue back to a 1969 Assembly debate, Vijay cited the then opposition leader P G Karuthiruman, who advocated setting aside partisan credit for the welfare of delta farmers.Taking a sharp dig at Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin over his comments regarding compensation for farmers unable to undertake Kuruvai cultivation, Vijay remarked: “Our government has already released a special relief package for Kuruvai. Had they read newspapers regularly, they would have known what was happening in the state.”The jab drew an immediate counter-strike from Udhayanidhi, who shot back that relying on news reports wasn’t enough to gauge ground realities.“It is important to interact directly with farmers and understand their concerns,” Udhayanidhi retorted, questioning the govt’s hesitation: “Why is there fear or hesitation in convening an all-party meeting on this issue?”
