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Bengaluru, Sept 13: Former Karnataka Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP and H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) -- will not be attending the 'special emergency meeting' called by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday to discuss the issue of releasing Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. 

The meeting was convened at short notice following the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Tuesday recommending that Karnataka release 5,000 cusecs of water every day for the next 15 days to Tamil Nadu.

Bommai and Kumaraswamy said they are preoccupied with prior commitments but made their stand clear on the issue.

The Chief Minister's office said late on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, ministers of the Cauvery basin region, former chief ministers of all parties, senior ministers of the state cabinet, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members were invited to participate in the emergency meeting.

While Yediyurappa is travelling to attend the BJP central election committee meeting in the national capital, Bommai too said, he will not be able to participate in the meeting as he is visiting his home constituency of Shiggavi in Haveri district to take part in an event.

'The state government invited late last night for a meeting to discuss the Cauvery dispute. However, I am not able to attend the meeting called by the government, as I have to participate in the pre-scheduled event in my constituency,' Bommai said on 'X'.

'Our stand on the Cauvery issue is clear. The state government should not release water to Tamil Nadu for any reason. The state government should make the Supreme Court and the CWMA (Cauvery Water Management Authority) understand the ground situation in the state,' he added.

Kumaraswamy too said he will not be able to attend the meeting as he has to attend a pre-scheduled event in Hassan.

Questioning the recommendation or direction to Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu, he urged the state government to reject it.

Terming CWRC's recommendation as 'unjust', he said because of water scarcity in the Cauvery basin area, Karnataka government asked farmers not to cultivate crops; there will also be shortage of drinking water in the days to come.

Further, hitting out at the state government for releasing water to TN all these days, despite Karnataka facing scarcity, Kumaraswamy said, "It doesn't have the basic understanding or guts or courage to protect the interest of the state...they don't have commitment towards the people. What will they do for drinking water in the days to come, from where will they provide it to the people of Bengaluru?" Also, pointing out that there is no distress formula on water sharing till now, he expressed his displeasure about Cauvery bodies, and alleged that people of Karnataka are repeatedly being subject to oppression.

Following the CWRC's recommendation, Siddaramaiah on Tuesday held an emergency meeting regarding the next steps to be taken. Shivakumar, several senior ministers and officials including Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, and Chief Minister's Legal Advisor A S Ponnanna participated in the meeting.

Shivakumar made it clear that Karnataka is in no position to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, as it doesn't have enough water storage, due to lack of adequate rainfall in the river basin region.

He had said that the matter is next going to come before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), in a couple of days, and Karnataka will vehemently put forward its stand before it. 

Mangaluru, Sep 11: A bank official was found dead inside the swimming pool of a prominent hotel in the heart of Mangaluru city today morning.

The deceased has been officially identified as Gopu R Nair, hailing from Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala.

According to preliminary information, Nair had checked into the hotel on Sunday, and the tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Monday when he left his room at approximately 4 a.m.

A case has been registered at jurisdictional Pandeshwar police station and investigations are on.

New Delhi, Sept 19: India on Tuesday summoned Canadian envoy Cameron MacKay to inform him of the government’s decision to expel a “senior Canadian diplomat” in response to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the death of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The move marked a further deterioration in bilateral relations, which are currently in tatters over the Canadian side’s response to India’s concerns over the activities of pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil.

“The High Commissioner of Canada to India was summoned today and informed about the decision of the Government of India to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India. The concerned diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days,” the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement.

Unlike the Canadian side, the statement did not name the Canadian diplomat being expelled.

People familiar with the matter said Olivier Sylvestere, the Canadian intelligence agency station chief in India, was the official asked to leave the country.

“The decision reflects Government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” the statement said, without giving details.

India has already rejected Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s contention that there are “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and the killing of Nijjar in June, describing the claim as “absurd and motivated”.

Soon after Trudeau spoke on the matter in Canada’s Parliament, foreign minister Mélanie Joly announced the expulsion of a “top Indian diplomat”. Joly’s office later identified the official as Pavan Kumar Rai, head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Canada, according to public broadcaster CBC.

People familiar with the matter had earlier said on condition of anonymity that India was expected to expel a Canadian official as a response. It is not unusual in international diplomacy for such expulsions by one country to be responded to by the other country with a tit-for-tat measure.

With the Indian Parliament holding a special session, external affairs minister S Jaishankar is expected to make an official statement in the House on the matter, the people said.

India-Canada relations have been at an all-time low for some time now, largely because of New Delhi’s anger over Ottawa’s perceived indifference to the activities of pro-Khalistan elements. These elements have incited violence against Indian diplomats, including putting the officials’ photos and other details on posters, and targeted Indian diplomatic facilities several times in recent years.

Canadian diplomats, including the high commissioner in New Delhi, have been summoned to the external affairs ministry in the past for formal protests over the activities of Khalistani elements.

In June, the Indian government was particularly angered after a float at a pro-Khalistan rally in Toronto depicted the assassination of former premier Indira Gandhi in a gory manner and eulogised her killers.

Several efforts in recent years to reset India-Canada relations have run aground over the Canadian side’s persistent stance that the activities of pro-Khalistan elements are covered by the freedom of expression guaranteed to Canadian citizens.