Bengaluru, Jul 23 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday hit out at his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant’s recent remark on the Mahadayi river project and called it an “insult” to the people of the state.
Siddaramaiah also sought to know why the Centre officially did not communicate any concerns regarding the project.
“The Goa CM’s remark on the Mahadayi project is an insult to the people of Karnataka,” he said in a statement.
“Is this how federalism works under BJP? Backdoor sabotage, silence, and betrayal? What crime have Kannadigas committed? Are we being punished for not surrendering to the BJP?” asked the Chief Minister.
Siddaramaiah emphasised that Mahadayi project was to provide drinking water to North Karnataka, not for luxury or waste.
He highlighted that for decades, the people of Karnataka have waited for justice.
The CM lambasted BJP and JD(S) leaders from Karnataka, accusing them of lacking the courage to speak out on the matter.
“Their silence today will be remembered tomorrow,” he charged.
“Despite the 2018 tribunal verdict allocating 13.42 TMC of water to us, the Centre, hand in glove with Goa’s BJP govt, is blocking the implementation of our rightful project,” Siddaramaiah alleged.
According to him, if the project is implemented, it will quench the thirst of over 40 lakh people in the districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Bagalkot and nearby regions.
“It is a lifeline, not a bargaining chip. We will fight legally, politically, and morally until Karnataka gets its rightful share.” Karnataka Minister H K Patil too objected to Sawant’s remarks in the Goa assembly on the Mahadayi river water-sharing issue.
The objection came after Sawant told the Goa assembly that Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had assured him the Centre would not, under any circumstances, clear the Mahadayi project, a claim Karnataka termed as “shocking”.
The two coastal states are locked in a decades-old dispute over the sharing of Mahadayi river water.
The BJP-ruled Goa has accused Congress-governed Karnataka of “planning to divert” the river by constructing two dams. PTI GMS ROH
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