What Did Siddaramaiah Say About The Karnataka And Bengaluru Bandh?

With protests escalating over the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and Bengaluru Bandh being declared on the issue, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated on Monday that his government would not suppress these demonstrations. He emphasized the need to maintain peace.

The Chief Minister also pledged that the state government would present its case more vigorously before the Supreme Court when the matter next comes up for hearing. He affirmed the government's commitment to safeguard the state's interests.

While some farmers' organisations have called for a 'Bengaluru bandh' on Tuesday in protest of the Cauvery issue, various Kannada groups, led by Kannada activists Vatal Nagaraj under the banner 'Kannada Okkuta,' have declared a statewide bandh on September 29.

Siddaramaiah explained, "We had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Regulation Committee. The court rejected our petition, as it did Tamil Nadu's. They initially requested 24,000 cusecs, then reduced it to 7,200 cusecs, but we insisted we couldn't even provide 5,000 cusecs due to the lack of water."

He further stated, "The Supreme Court did not accept our position, and the matter is scheduled for September 26. We will present our case more forcefully." When asked about protests and bandhs regarding the Cauvery issue, the CM clarified that in a democracy, the government does not restrict such activities but accused the BJP and JD(S) of politicizing the matter.

Regarding calls from the BJP and JD(S) for the government's resignation, Siddaramaiah said they were engaged in politics and had not made such demands during the all-party meeting.

The Supreme Court on September 21 declined to interfere with the order of the Cauvery Water Management Authority, which endorsed the directions of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee for Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from September 13.

Karnataka has argued that it cannot release water due to its own requirements for drinking water and irrigation in the Cauvery basin, owing to a scarcity of water caused by deficient monsoon rains.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar stressed that the government's priority is to protect the state's land, water, and language, and it would not try to restrict protests. He underlined the importance of maintaining peace and not inconveniencing the public during protests.

Shivakumar added that protests are a democratic right and should not be curtailed. He also cautioned that calls for bandhs should be made after considering court orders, as they may have legal consequences.

He mentioned that there have been slight improvements in inflow due to recent rains, but releasing more water in the future would be challenging. The government has explored the possibility of cloud seeding, but the situation remains difficult.

Shivakumar noted that there might be a lack of consensus among organizations regarding the bandh calls, and the government would not interfere in these decisions. He emphasized the government's responsibility to protect the state's interests and the need for public cooperation for any bandh to have an impact.