Ex-PM Deve Gowda sits on indefinite hunger strike against SC's Cauvery order

Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda began an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday here in protest against the latest order of the Supreme Court with regard to the sharing of Cauvery river waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Gowda told ANI that Karnataka is not a habitual offender and its people have been suffering because of this impasse for the last 130 years.

"The issue started in 1893. If there is no rain.how can we release water monthly, weekly? Let the people of this country judge whether we are habitual offenders, or whether Tamil Nadu is intimidating. We made a humble request to send the same monitoring committee to visit Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. These are all the issues which need debate in the Parliament," he added.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened an all-party meeting in Bengaluru today to discuss the future course of action.

The Union Water Resources Ministry has asked the three Cauvery basin states - Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry to nominate their representatives to be appointed to the Cauvery Water Management Board as directed by the Supreme Court.

The apex court has directed the Centre to set up the board by October 4.

It ordered all the stakeholders Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry to give names by 4 p.m. today of the representatives to be on the Board which will be chaired by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.

Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar said that letters have been issued to the four states seeking their nominations.