CPI slams Centre for 'closing its eyes' on Cauvery row

The CPI today slammed the Union government for maintaining "silence" and "closing its eyes" over the Cauvery issue even as two southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka find themselves at the centre of a raging controversy.
"It is the lawful duty of the Centre to resolve the Cauvery issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. What is the intent in avoiding it and maintaining a silence?" CPI state secretary R Mutharasan asked.
Stating that on issues involving two sovereign countries, the United Nations may be approached, he wondered who would broker peace in the Cauvery row between two Indian states, adding that it was the Centre's duty to resolve it.

Referring to intensifying protests in Karnataka against the Supreme Court direction to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and agitations in the state seeking more water, Mutharasan said in a statement that the "two states are not two different countries but are only constituent Indian states bound by the Indian Constitution".
Echoing the views of other opposition parties, including the DMK, the CPI leader said the state government should convene an all-party meeting and take further steps on the issue.
"The Tamil Nadu government should realise that it is duty bound to exert pressure on the Centre over the issue.

"Only if Tamil Nadu gets 50 TMC feet of Cauvery water, would it help cultivation of Samba crop to some extent," he said, adding that the actual realisation of 15,000 cusecs of water let out by Karnataka would only be around 13 TMC feet.
He blamed the Tamil Nadu government for attempting to resolve the issue through "unilateral action" rather than involving the political parties and the stakeholders, including farmers' associations. "This is a weakness of Tamil Nadu," he said.
Steps should be taken on a war footing by the Central and state governments to get Cauvery water from Karnataka, to save the standing crops and farming in the Cauvery delta region, he urged.