Cauvery row: Defiant CM decides not to release water till Friday

Bengaluru, Sep 22: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday decided to convene a one-day legislature session on Friday to seek the opinion of elected representatives on the Supreme Court's order to release 6,000 cusecs ofCauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu. He has deferred implementation of the order until such time.

The move - which virtually amounts to defying the apex court - will give some reprieve to the Congress government, under fire from agitating farmers in Mandya and Mysuru . The CM is likely to take the stand that just as the judiciary is of utmost important to him, so is the legislature. The legislature's unanimous resolution against releasing water will be submitted to the apex court.

The decision came after Siddaramaiah held day-long talks with his cabinet colleagues, JD(S) leaders and the legal fraternity. Speaking to reporters after a late-evening cabinet meeting, Siddaramaiah said the opinion at the all-party meeting was to immediately convene a legislature session to discuss the issue.

A big push for the government's position came from former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who attended an all-party meeting that the BJP boycotted. Gowda was vociferous that the government cannot release water at the cost of farmers' interests.

BJP sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked Union water resources minister Uma Bharati to convene a meeting of all Cauvery basin states.

Karnataka counsel Fali S Nariman was of the view that the state should release water and express its difficulty before the court on September 27, the date of the next hearing.

It is learnt the Karnataka government took a cue from the Haryana-Punjab row over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal. In May , the Punjab assembly had passed a resolution against the SYL Canal saying the state did not have water to share with Haryana.The latter, in turn, accused Punjab of "crossing all limits" and decided to approach the Centre and the Supreme Court. Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal moved a resolution in the assembly saying his state did not have even one drop to share with other states. The Karnataka leg islature's unani mous resolution will cushion the state government to some extent against contempt of court, sources said, as the issue would become one between the legislature and the judiciary. With assembly polls one and a half years away, the Congress government cannot afford to take the Supreme Court head on.

At a meeting of the council of ministers earlier in the day, the majority opinion was against releasing water. Some ministers are said to have pointed out that Karnataka had expected some relief from the court on Tuesday .

As all pleas by the state were turned down, there is a possibility of the state being asked to continue releasing water and make good the deficit in the next hearing on September 27. Therefore, it is necessary for the state gov ernment to adopt a hard position now, they felt.

At the all-party meeting, M Veerappa Moily , MP, exhorted the government to not release water, saying the apex court has no jurisdiction over the issue. A delegation led by Siddaramaiah is planning to call on President Pranab Mukherjee to apprise him of the situation and request him to direct PM Narendra Modi to call a meeting of the CMs of the Cauvery basin states.

"We are committed to protecting the interests of our farmers and meet the drinking water needs of Mysuru, Bengaluru and other cities. So we want to seek the opinion of all legislators," a senior minister said.

The BJP welcomed the cabinet decision to defer the decision to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till they discuss the issue at the emergency session of the legislature. "It's a belated decison but we welcome it. The two decisions taken at the late night cabinet meeting - to defer the decision to release water and convene an emergency legislature session -are the demands the BJP had been making for a long time in the shortterm and long-term interest of the people," BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa said.

The minister, however, said the legal team will continue its fight by seeking modification of the top court's order to release 6,000 cusecs.

Commenting on the state's hard stance, a legal expert said: "The decision will harm Karnataka's interests during future hearings in court as it would be regarded a rogue state. There could be a constitutional crisis if Tamil Nadu moves the apex court to enforce its order."

In 2002, then chief minister SM Krishna was pulled up by the apex court when he defied its order to release water to Tamil Nadu. He apologized and released water later. S Bangarappa tried to defy the interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by promulgating an ordinance that was struck down by the apex court. He released water as stipulated in the interim award.