Cauvery: Vijaykant comes down heavily on Karunanidhi

Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, July 9 (UNI) Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) founder and actor Vijaykant today questioned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi why he did not observe a fast against Karnataka not releasing Cauvery water from Krishna Raja Sagar reservoir to the State.

He asked why the Chief Minister, who had reportedly threatened to embark on a hunger strike against the possible postponement of the just-concluded Madurai West byelection, did not observe fast on the Cauvery issue, which was the life line for thousands of farmers in the State.

''Why can't the Chief Minister, who plays a crucial role in selecting the Presidential candidate, find a solution to this issue by personally speaking to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, instead of writing to the Prime Minister,'' he asked, addressing a public meeting here last evening.

Taking a dig at the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance, Mr Vijaykant dared the allies to face the hustings independently.

''The allies are hand in glove with the DMK Government in all its activities...Some of them pretended to criticise the Government for their own personal gains, while the others chose to sing paens to the Government, forgetting their responsibilities,'' he said.

Holding the DMK Government responsible for the rising insurgency and law and order incidents in the State, he claimed that youth were taking to terrorism due to widespread unemployment. ''A solution to the issue can be arrived at if the Government provided job to atleast one person in each family, instead of doling out populist schemes like distributing colour TVs.'' UNI XR GD SM SSC1259