Cong criticises Kumaraswamy's 'stoic silence' on Cauvery issue

Bangalore, Feb 7 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council H K Patil today criticised Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy for maintaining a ''stoic silence'' on the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), ''which had dealt a severe blow to the State''.

Addressing newspersons here, he said Mr Kumaraswamy had not made any statement on the ''unfair'' verdict, while his Council of Ministers and the State's lawyers were singing different tunes. The State's legal representatives before the Tribunal had hailed the verdict as favourable to Karnataka, even as Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had said the Government would file a review petition against the ''unfair deal''.

The senior Congress leader said the Chief Minister should have convened an emergency Cabinet meeting to take stock of the Tribunal order. ''Failing to face the challenge of the situation, the Chief Minister seems to have tacitly approved the statement of the lawyers,'' he charged.

UNI