Cms Should Solve Almatti: Hegde

Hegde told reporters here yesterday that the issue could not be sorted out by the committee of chief ministers as it was not in the know of the intricate problem of the distribution of Krishna river waters among the riparian states.

As Chief Minister, it was Hegde who was responsible for blocking clearance to the Telugu Ganga project and had taken a tough stand against states violating the Bachawat Tribunal award.

He regretted that the Almatti issue was being politicised and being made a major controversy. This is not in the interests of either of the two states. Nobody should take political mileage out of the dispute. The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra should sit down and settle the issue, he suggested.

Refuting reports that he was jealous of H D Deve Gowda becoming the Prime Minister, Hegde said: In fact, it is the other way round. It was Gowda who is responsible for my expulsion from the Janata Dal. Gowda has been targeting me right from the moment he assumed office in Delhi. The former chief minister expressed strong disapproval of the Gowda-Thackeray meeting in Mumbai last week. Terming the explanation given by Gowda for the meeting as ridiculous, Hegde said people pay condolences at the residence of the bereaved person and not at a pre-determined place.

Hegde is here on a two-day visit, mainly to broadbase his Nava Nirman Vedike, due for inauguration on October 2. He met NTR (Telugu Desam) leader Lakshmi Parvathi on Saturday and held discussions with her on the political situation.