After TN Opposition meet, parties voice discontent with new Cauvery management body

The DMK leader MK Stalin, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, at a protest in April (Photo: Twitter/@mkstalin)

DMK leader MK Stalin on Tuesday said the Cauvery water sharing mechanism approved last week by the Supreme Court should have all the powers suggested for such a board by a 2007 tribunal award.

Stalin, the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, was briefing reporters about a list of five resolutions passed at a meeting of opposition parties.

The veteran politician, who is the working president of the DMK, said water should be released from the Mettur dam by June 12 for the kuravai crops. Kuravai, a Tamil word, is a seasonal term - like kharif or rabi.

Vaiko, the leader of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party, accused the Centre of betraying Tamil Nadu with respect to the Cauvery issue.

"They have totally diluted the final verdict of the Cauvery tribunal, which gave ample protection to the Cauvery delta area of Tamil Nadu," he said.

Vaiko also accused the AIADMK government of becoming the Narendra Modi administration's "stooges," and alleged that lawyers representing the state failed to defend its cause before the judiciary - in contrast, he said, to those appearing for Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.

The MDMK chief also decried what he claimed was the removal of provisions protecting Tamil Nadu's interests.

NEW LEADER IN KARNATAKA

HD Kumaraswamy, the legislative party leader of the Janata Dal (Secular), will be sworn in tomorrow as Karnataka's new chief minister. He will lead a coalition government composed mostly of JD (S) and Congress lawmakers.

Thirunavukarasu, a Tamil Nadu Congress leader, says his party will fight for Tamil Nadu no matter who runs the Karnataka government.

WATCH | Governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should talk over Cauvery issue: HD Kumaraswamy