Mekedatu row: Stalin urges Vijay to end silence, rally parties
Former chief minister invokes farmers’ concerns and Assembly resolution to push for a joint stand against reservoir proposal
M.K. Stalin urges Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to convene an all-party meeting against Karnataka’s Mekedatu dam proposal.
The DMK chief cites Karnataka Chief Minister Shivakumar’s renewed commitment to the project and concerns among Tamil Nadu’s farmers.
Stalin wants elected representatives to present a united appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside the Assembly’s June resolution.
DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to convene an all-party meeting against Karnataka’s Mekedatu dam proposal, pressing the Tamil Nadu government to mount a united political response to renewed assertions that the project would go ahead.
In a letter to Vijay, the former chief minister said Karnataka Chief Minister Shivakumar’s remarks had caused considerable concern among Tamil Nadu’s farmers. He called on the government to bring parties together and take their objections to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Stalin, Shivakumar reiterated his determination to build the reservoir at a government event attended by Modi on 13 November, declaring that nobody could stop its construction.
Stalin said the Tamil Nadu government could no longer remain silent, arguing that the issue involved both the livelihoods of Cauvery delta farmers and the river’s historical and emotional significance for Tamils.
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His intervention places fresh pressure on Vijay to demonstrate a political consensus within Tamil Nadu, with the DMK chief pointing to the common position adopted by parties in Karnataka.
Stalin proposed that resolutions from the all-party meeting, together with the Assembly resolution passed in June against the dam proposal, be submitted to Modi by elected representatives.
He urged parties to set aside political differences in defending Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery rights and said the government should respond promptly to appeals from farmers and political organisations.
The DMK chief also questioned the outcome of Vijay’s earlier attempt to hold discussions on the dispute. Stalin said Shivakumar had ultimately declined to participate following opposition from some organisations in Karnataka and maintained that the episode had not gone down well with people in Tamil Nadu.
Recalling the state’s sustained legal efforts over Cauvery water rights, Stalin argued that a collective political stand was necessary to protect farmers’ interests.
The demand also follows an earlier appeal by Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. During the passage of an Assembly resolution seeking referral of the Mekedatu issue to a tribunal, Udhayanidhi had called for an all-party meeting and a joint delegation to seek the Prime Minister’s intervention.
With his latest letter, Stalin has renewed that demand, putting the focus on how the Vijay government intends to mobilise opposition to the proposed reservoir.
With PTI inputs