Congress leader and actor Nagma has jumped into the battle over the Cauvery dispute, and requested Tamil Nadu to remember Karnataka's help during the floods.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday during a press conference at her office in Chennai, Nagma urged people to remember that people in Tamil Nadu had received a lot of help from residents in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru. Her own party however, saw each state equally, she said.
“For the Congress, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu are treated equally. Congress is impartial. The water dispute is a complex issue,” she said in response to a question.
Taking a dig and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Nagma said: “During the floods, (some people) just surveyed the situation from the air. Rahul Gandhi personally came and walked to look at the aftermath. People in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru helped a lot during that time, and people must not forget that.”
Nagma’s remarks come on the day that Karnataka released water from the Cauvery, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive. Tamil Nadu had approached the SC seeking an urgent hearing, making out a case for farmers who had no water for their crops.
The Supreme Court had on Monday directed the state of Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu for 10 days from September 7.
Karnataka decided to abide by the Supreme Court directive, after the Chief Minister chaired an all-party meeting on Tuesday evening.
"Despite severe hardship faced by Karnataka, the state will release water as directed by the order of the Supreme Court," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the media after a three-hour long all-party meeting at the state secretariat in Bengaluru.
Reiterating that the state was bound to abide by the apex court order under the Constitution, the chief minister said the state had accepted to release water with a heavy heart despite being in a distress situation.
"This is not a normal year but a distress year due to deficit rains during the monsoon season. As a result, there is not sufficient water in the reservoirs across the Cauvery basin to release or share it with Tamil Nadu as per the tribunal award," he said.
At the same time, the chief minister assured the people in the Mysuru region that the state would continue to supply the river water for drinking and irrigation.
"We will soon approach the Supreme Court for modifying its order to ensure we will have enough water for drinking and irrigation in the region through the year," Siddaramaiah noted.