Jaya opposes Uma, says constituting Cauvery Board mandatory

Shoots off another letter to PM, pressing for Tamil Nadu's demand for Board

A day after Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti contended that there was no proposal to constitute the Cauvery Management Board, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today asserted that it was mandatory for the Centre to establish such an authority to give effect to the Tribunal's final order.

Apparently irked by Bharti's statements, Jayalalithaa, who has been mounting pressure on the Narendra Modi government to set up the CMB, today fired another letter to the Prime Minister pressing for the state's demand.

"The constitution of the Cauvery Management Board is not optional but an integral part of the final order itself," Jayalalithaa said, rebutting the statement of Uma Bharti, who had yesterday said the proposal for setting up the Board was never there and there was no direction from the Supreme Court. Tamil Nadu has already moved the Supreme Court praying for a direction to the Centre to set up CMB.

"I would like to point out here that unless the Cauvery Management Board is formed, the notification will be only "on a piece of paper" as stated by the Tribunal," she said. She described the memorandum submitted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the Prime Minister on June 10 opposing the constitution of CMB "is full of misleading statements and distorted facts."