Chennai, Jan 10 (BPNS)

Tamil Manila Congress (TMC ) president and former Union Minister, G.K. Vasan said that the padayatra taken out by the Karnataka unit of the Congress party for the construction of a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekedatu was highly condemnable.

In a statement on Monday, G.K. Vasan who is the son of illustrious Congress leader of Tamil Nadu, late G.K.Moopanar said that the DMK and Congress that are in an alliance in Tamil Nadu should intervene and persuade the Karnataka unit of the Congress party to put an end to this ‘Padayatra’ for constructing a dam across Mekedatu.

The TMC leader said that the Cauvery river was the lifeline of Tamil Nadu and constructing a dam across the river would adversely affect the life of the farmers of the delta districts of Tamil Nadu. He said that the act of the Karnataka Congress party was totally against the interests of the farmers of Tamil Nadu. He demanded the Karnataka unit of the Congress party to call off the ‘Padayatra’ in the best interests of the people of the two states.

It may be noted that the BJP Tamil Nadu state president, K. Annamalai had in a series of tweets on Sunday asked whether the DMK had decided to give up the rights of the people of Tamil Nadu for the sake of its alliance partner, the Congress party.

The Mekedatu dam across the Cauvery river has been a major bone of contention between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the Congress unit of Karnataka taking this issue up will be having major repercussions against that party in Tamil Nadu. The statement of G.K. Vasan and that of the BJP president K. Annamalai are aimed at bringing the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress and the ruling DMK on the defense as water has been a major issue of contention between the two states.