Crucial meeting to be held in Delhi tomorrow to discuss Cauvery crisis

Amid the ongoing row over the Cauvery water crisis between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, a crucial meeting over the issue is likely to take place in the national capital on Wednesday. The meeting is said to be chaired by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah at a private hotel in New Delhi. It is being said that the Karnataka government along with the representatives from the central government will try to chalk out a way to resolve the issue between the two states. 

According to the reports, apart from Karnataka’s chief minister, representatives from all parties concerned with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be present at the meeting. Additionally, Members of Parliament (MPs) from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha representing various constituencies in Karnataka and concerned Union Ministers will also attend the meeting. 

DyCM defends govt's decision to release water to Tamil Nadu

Meanwhile, TB Jayachandra, special representative of the Karnataka government in Delhi, is said to be holding preliminary discussions at Delhi’s Karnataka Bhavan for the crucial meeting to be held on Wednesday. It is being said that apart from discussion on the Cauvery water sharing dispute, other state projects pending before the central government and drought relief issues will also be discussed at the meeting.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be accompanied by  Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at the meeting. Both the leaders will leave for Delhi on Tuesday night. 

Reports suggest that CM Siddaramaiah is likely to leave for New Delhi on Tuesday night at around 9.10 pm, while Shivakumar will leave for Delhi a little earlier. The meeting is likely to commence at a private hotel at around 8:30 a.m. on September 20th. 

Karnataka DyCM Shivakumar earlier on Tuesday sought the Centre's intervention to resolve the issue. He urged the opposition BJP leaders and MPs to prevail upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bail out Karnataka. He said will be meeting MPs and the Union Ministers on the issue during the ongoing Parliament session.

Shivakumar also defended the state’s decision to release river water to Tamil Nadu, citing the advice of the legal team. Earlier, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Monday asked Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days.