I am following what Kumaraswamy has said: DCM DK Shivakumar

Bengaluru: "Kumaraswamy had said in the past that we and Tamil Nadu should resolve the Cauvery issue like our brothers. I am following his word," said DCM DK Shivakumar.

Speaking at a media conference on Monday regarding the release of Kaveri river water at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said, "It is my hope that instead of fighting over the issue of water, we should talk and solve it. The people of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are living on both sides of each other. Is it right to fight then? Earlier in June 2021, Kumaraswamy had said this through a tweet.

The Supreme Court has said that we will form a separate bench for our state of Karnataka regarding the Cauvery issue. We will place before the court the facts of our state's situation. They have asked to release 10,000 cusecs of water daily till August 31. We need a total of 124 TMC of water. But now there is only 55 TMC. Bengaluru needs 24 TMC of drinking water. Mysore, Mandya, Ramnagar need 20 TMC. There is 22 TMC in KRS, 6.5 TMC in Kabini, 7 TMC in Harangi and 20 TMC in Hemavati, DCM Shivakumar said.

On August 23, an all-party meeting has been called under the leadership of the Chief Minister on Cauvery, Mekedatu and Mahadayi issues. We have invited former Chief Ministers and MPs to the meeting. If an all-party delegation agrees to go to the meeting and put pressure on the Centre, we are ready for it. The welfare of the farmers of the state is important to us. The honor of our state must remain. It is the responsibility of all parties, he said.

There have been many hurdles in Mekedatu projects including tiger reserve area. Keeping all this in mind, we have called an all-party meeting. We are following a wait-and-see strategy, after the all-party meeting, it will be decided whether to file an appeal in the Supreme Court or not. The Supreme Court had said that 10,000 cusecs should be released by August 31. The opposition parties are making many criticisms about this. I am aware of how much water they left in their time, he said.

The Tamil Nadu government has gone against the Central Irrigation Authority and not the Karnataka government. The central government could have filed an affidavit against the Tamil Nadu petition. But why they have not submitted? All this is known to Bommai and Kumaraswamy, said Shivakumar.

However, Bommai wrote a letter to the government not to release the water. Kumaraswamy said that water was released because of the alliance. Bommai is alleging that Tamil Nadu has used 64 tmc of water. Should we prevent them from using their share of water? Let them use their share of water anyway. We have no right to question it. We are giving every drop of water in calculation. We did not leave extra water. Why are both the former Chief Ministers talking about the Cauvery water issue without proper knowledge?, questions Shivakumar.

We have no water to give to Tamil Nadu. We released water twice so that the farmers' crops would not get damaged. We have already requested the authority to reconsider their decision and after the all-party meeting we will take a decision on filing an appeal to the Supreme Court, says DCM.

He said, I don't have to answer to BJP and Dal. I have to answer to the people of the state and to the court. I don't have to answer the critics. Tamil Nadu people will take it to court if I speak wrongly just because they will speak.

When asked about the criticism that water is being released for the I.N.D.I.A alliance, he said, "We cannot say no to those who speak. Let them speak. I will work to protect the state and the farmers. Not for those who criticize. Those who criticize should introspect what happened in their times."

When asked that the issue of Cauvery water is not being disputed for no reason, he said, "Some people have to do politics and are disputing it. People know this issue. I have released water twice for the benefit of our farmers. Cheluvarayaswamy has pressured us and released water. Has this not benefited the farmers? For lack of water, The only solution is Mekedatu project," he said.

Responding to the media's question about Kumaraswamy saying that he would release the documents of the Nice scandal, he said, "He is always bringing this issue to the fore, that it should be in the news. He is free to release whatever he wants. Kumaraswamy also knows how scared I am. I don't want to talk about the same issue for no reason. I don't want to talk about it without any reason. There are other things to do," he replied.