"No need for all-party meeting on Mekedatu": Tamil Nadu CM Vijay says "don't want cheap politics"

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Friday said that there was no need for an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu Dam and the Cauvery water dispute, and urged the opposition not to "play politics."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Friday said that there was no need for an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu Dam and the Cauvery water dispute, and urged the opposition not to "play politics." Addressing the Assembly, Vijay slammed the Opposition parties and assured that the TVK-led government will "not compromise on the rights regarding the Cauvery water issue."

He said, "There is no need to convene an all-party meeting. Please do not play politics on the Mekedatu dam issue. Whatever our stand may be, we have expressed it through a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our government will not compromise on its rights regarding the river water issue or the Mekedatu dam issue. I do not want to indulge in cheap politics by bringing up past history. Do not think about who will gain politically or who will take credit for this issue." "We know what needs to be done regarding the Cauvery issue, but you are politicising the matter... We are firmly committed to pursuing the Cauvery issue through legal means," he added.

DMK had earlier called for an all-party meeting on Karnataka's bid to build the Mekedatu Dam on the Cauvery River. Vijay's remarks come after a stir over Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin's arrest over "derogatory" remarks against the Chief Minister and actor Trisha amid the heightened Cauvery water dispute.

Udhayanidhi has maintained that his remarks were for the Cauvery River and not for an individual. He lashed out at CM Vijay alleging that his arrest was a "diversionary tactic" to deter him from raising the Cauvery and Mekedatu issue. "I am only asking why an all-party meeting has not been convened. When we were in government, the present Chief Minister criticised us for writing a letter to the Prime Minister. He himself had spoken about it at the time. The Chief Minister knows how this issue should be resolved. This is a matter concerning the livelihood of the people, and he knows how to address it. I have taken up the resolution you submitted in accordance with the rules. You have yourself acknowledged that the issue is serious. I am only asking how you are going to resolve it. The Agriculture Minister said in an interview that the Chief Minister would be going to Karnataka, but two other ministers have denied it. They are saying that they do not want the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to come to Karnataka and that they are not prepared to release water," he said in the house

"The Chief Minister should meet the farmers of the Delta districts and speak to them. During the previous government, cultivation was carried out on 6.8 lakh acres, whereas under this government, cultivation has been carried out on only 1.5 lakh acres," he added. (ANI)