Oppn urges K'taka CM to take them into confidence on Cauvery

Bangalore, Feb 13 (UNI) The Opposition party members in the Karnataka Assembly today took exception to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's proposed meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi tomorrow on the Cauvery issue and asked him to discuss with them before interacting with the Prime Minister.

Raising the issue after question hour, Leader of the Opposition N Dharam Singh referred to media reports about the Chief Minister's visit and felt that there was no need for it before finalising the State's stand on the issue following the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal pronouncing its verdict on February five.

He contended that it would send wrong signals and any such unilateral decision would ultimately put the interests of the State in peril. He took exception to the Janata Dal (Secular) leaders' remarks and said it gave an impression that the Congress was opposed to an unanimous decision on the issue.

His views were endorsed by other senior Congress leaders, including Mr Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr Siddaramaiah.

Mr Kumaraswamy, in his reply, clarified that he was meeting the Prime Minister to discuss various pending proposals related to the State. The State Government was committed to protecting the interests of the people and would abide by the outcome of an all-party meeting to be convened next week, he assured.

Dissatisfied with the reply, Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj demanded that the House pass a resolution, rejecting the verdict, and declared that he would boycott the proceedings until then.

UNI