Centre metes out step-motherly treatment to T.N.: Durai Vaiko

MDMK's Durai Vaiko alleges Centre's step-motherly treatment towards TN; Karnataka govt not adhering to SC & CWMA directions to release Cauvery water; TN govt urged to increase compensation to Delta farmers; Nationalisation of rivers solution to water disputes; Union govt reducing MGNREGS funds; AIADMK-BJP split won't affect I.N.D.I.A bloc; seat-sharing for 2024 LS polls to be discussed.

The BJP government at the Centre has been meting out step-motherly treatment towards Tamil Nadu and has failed to exert pressure on the Karnataka government to release water into the Cauvery river, alleged MDMK headquarters secretary Durai Vaiko, on Monday.

Speaking to media persons in Tiruchi, on the sidelines of a protest organised by the party against the Union government on the Cauvery issue, and also because of its reduced allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Mr. Durai said, the Karnataka government has failed to adhere to the directions of the Supreme Court and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to release T.N.’s share of Cauvery water.

Over 3 lakh acres of kuruvai paddy withered without water for irrigation in the Cauvery delta districts, and the Union government had failed to exert pressure on the Karnataka government to comply with the directions of the apex Court and the CWMA, alleged Mr. Durai. He urged the Tamil Nadu government to increase the compensation to Delta farmers, whose kuruvai paddy crop was affected, from ₹13,500 to ₹20,000 per hectare.

Nationalisation of rivers is the solution to resolve disputes among States over sharing water, he said, recalling the initiative of his father and MDMK general secretary Vaiko, who had introduced a private member Bill in Parliament in this regard.

Mr. Durai also said the MGNREGS was envisaged to provide job opportunities for women and the poor in rural areas for their economic upliftment. However, the Union government has been constantly reducing the allocation of funds for the scheme, which benefits nearly 16 crore people in India. The Union government has allocated only ₹60,000 crore for the scheme in 2023-24, against the actual requirement of ₹2.7 lakh crore, he said.

The decision of AIADMK to snap ties with the BJP will not create any impact on the I.N.D.I.A bloc and all the political parties in their alliance remain intact, he said, and added that his party seniors would discuss the seat-sharing arrangements with DMK leaders in the coming months, for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.