Mahanadi water dispute a non-issue: Chhattisgarh CM

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Saturday said the Mahanadi water dispute was no issue, whereas the Odisha government was making an issue out of a non-issue.

"A non-issue has been made an issue that people of Odisha knew it very well. Even, attempts were made to make it an issue during Odisha panchayat elections," Singh told the media.

Singh was here to attend the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) two-day national executive meeting.

He said he was always ready to discuss the issue with his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik.

"I am ready to talk on the issue with Naveen Patnaik to meet a conclusion", he added.

He also said the executive meeting would deliberate and take several decisions keeping Odisha's interest in mind.

"After panchayat polls, the awareness was seen among the BJP workers and the performance shown, let the party come to power in the upcoming elections in Odisha", Singh said.

However, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik rejected Singh's statement saying the state government was making it an issue on political grounds.

He said Singh was not cooperative to resolve the issue at the meeting called by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.

--IANS

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