The Vokkaliga stronghold in the Cauvery river basin has been witnessing a political tussle over the past one week between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress. Mekedatu Drinking Water Project on January 9 amid COVID-19 concerns. 11 Day Padyatra for ‘Our Water, Our Right’ Congress is seeing this as an election bugle for the assembly elections which are a year away. Congress will pass through 15 important assembly constituencies which have a large Vokkaliga population during the padyatra. At the heart of the walkathon are Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar, Vokkaliga and chief ministerial contender.
The padayatra, believed to be strong optics ahead of the election, would consider Vokkaliga votes to Congress, despite legal and administrative delays in implementing the Mekedatu project. With an impressive performance in the recent elections to the Upper House and Urban Local Bodies, the Congress is in an upbeat mood and is expected to contest the Lingayat Assembly elections after strong Lingayat leader and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was forced to step down by the BJP. will support it. ,
The BJP, which has so far failed to make a big inroads in the Cauvery basin districts, seems to be on the backfoot. Recently, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai attended a public function in which a Congress MP and a senior cabinet minister were seen fighting on stage. The event was seen as a political attempt by the BJP to end the impact of the padyatra through the launch of development schemes.
The Mekedatu ‘balance reservoir’ in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagaram district near the Tamil Nadu border remains controversial. After the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award was notified in 2013, the project to put about 67 TMC ft of additional water and generate electricity for the balance reservoir started taking shape. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) of ₹9,000 crore was submitted in 2019. While Tamil Nadu, a low-lying coastal state, got a stay from the National Green Tribunal Bench in Chennai, the Principal Bench in Delhi lifted the stay, which has now been questioned in the Supreme Court.
Tension is going on between BJP and Congress regarding this project. Terming the padyatra as a “political gimmick”, Mr Bommai accused the Congress of delaying the submission of the DPR. The government also released documents to prove the delay during the Congress rule. The Congress, on the other hand, is blaming the BJP’s desire to expand its footprint in Tamil Nadu for the delay in approving the project by the Centre. The party has also been saying that Karnataka has not benefited from BJP governments both at the Center and in the state.
Meanwhile, the JD(S), which draws its political power from the Vokkaligas and is in a direct fight with the Congress in the old Mysore region comprising Cauvery basin districts, has remained silent. Only its leader HD Kumaraswamy has taken a dig at the padyatra. Because, any increase in Congress votes in the region could damage the party politically as it is already struggling to remain relevant in state politics.
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The state government has not been able to stop the padyatra from proceeding so far. If the padyatra is stopped, the government is concerned about the Congress expressing sympathy. FIR registered against Congress leaders, It was only after the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday reprimanded the government after hearing a PIL that the government banned inter-district (Karnataka) and inter-district (Ramanagaram) movement of persons and vehicles for the purpose of participating in padyatras. order has been issued. The Leader of the Opposition has announced that the Congress will abide by the court’s decision.
sharath.srivatsa@thehindu.co.in
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