Congress will take out Mekedatu padyatra tomorrow, will follow HC orders when they come: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday that the Congress would take out the Mekedatu padyatra on Thursday and would also follow the directions of the High Court on the matter at the hearing on January 14.

Karnataka leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday that the Congress would take out the Mekedatu padyatra on Thursday and would also follow the directions of the High Court on the matter at the hearing on January 14. Earlier, the Karnataka HC had rapped the state government for giving permission for the padyatra by the Congress as Covid protocols were violated at the event.

Siddaramaiah told ANI that the observations made by the court today were for the state government, not for the Congress party undertaking the padayatra. He said, "We will undertake the padayatra tomorrow. Let's see what the court will say on January 14. We will continue our yatra because the observations made by the court today were for the government, not for us."

"We will respect and follow the court orders," he said. The Leader of Opposition said that protestors do not ask for permission to protest, but just inform.

"Whoever protests doesn't take permission. However, we have informed the state government about launching this padayatra. We have not taken any permission," Siddaramaiah added. However, he assured that the party will not violate the court orders which will be taken on January 14.

The Congress in Karnataka on Sunday began its 11-day padayatra, despite the government's COVID-19 restrictions, demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river. Shivakumar and 63 other Congressmen were booked in Ramanagara for violating COVID-19 norms during the party's Mekedatu padayatra.

After this development, Karnataka High Court on Wednesday slammed the state government for not taking any action against the protestors and issued a show-cause notice to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. "Why are you incapable to take action against the protestors? Were COVID-19 guidelines followed during the padayatra?" the court asked.

The next hearing has been scheduled to take place on January 14 at 10.30 am on the subject. With an aim to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Karnataka government has imposed a curfew on weekends and restricted public gatherings to fight the third wave of COVID-19, till January 19. It has also imposed a night curfew and has prohibited all rallies, dharnas, protests, among others.

The Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum drinking water project, to be constructed across the Cauvery river basin, has been at the centre of controversy between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Earlier too on July 12, 2021, Bommai had said that the Centre will have to give clearance to the project as per law and there is no reason the state government will stop the project. (ANI)

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