PMK leader asks TN govt to call for bandh on Cauvery award

Chennai, Feb 24 (UNI) Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder leader S Ramadoss today appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to call for a day's bandh to make the Centre pay need to the state's concern on the Cauvery issue.

Flaying former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda for trying for a debate on the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in Parliament, the PMK leader, in a statement here, said it was time the state raised its voice so that New Delhi could hear.

He said the party, in an all-party meeting convened by the DMK government to discuss the issue, had suggested a one-day bandh, but for reasons not known, the plea was turned down.

Had the state government observed a bandh and raised its voice, there would not be a situation for Tamil Nadu to plead with Congress President Sonia Gandhi to stop a debate on the issue in Parliament.

''We are forced to ponder over the need for raising our voice in oneness (by observing bandh),'' Dr Ramadoss said.

Launching a tirade against Mr Gowda for demanding a debate on the final award in Parliament, the PMK leader accused him of indulging in a conspiracy to prevent its publication in the gazette.

Mr Gowda, while being at the helm of affairs at the Centre, had tried all means to make the tribunal inert by posing all kinds of hurdles. He was now trying to prevent the gazette notification of the award, Dr Ramadoss alleged.

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