Chennai

AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday condemned Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s “silence” over recent statements from Karnataka on the controversial Mekedatu dam project. Accusing the state government of “failing” to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu delta farmers and compromising on state water rights, Palaniswami lashed out at Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for claiming that no external permissions are necessary to construct a reservoir across the Cauvery River at Mekedatu.

In a statement here, the AIADMK General Secretary charged the Karnataka government with “intentionally spreading false information” to deceive the public, asserting that the Supreme Court of India has not granted unmitigated clearance for the project.

Highlighting the previous AIADMK regime’s track record, Palaniswami detailed a series of official representations he had sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi between 2017 and 2018 and emphasised that the AIADMK had consistently urged the central government to completely deny statutory and administrative clearances for any reservoir construction across the Cauvery River. He described the ruling TVK as a “passive bystander” and accused Chief Minister Vijay of maintaining a stoic “silence” instead of delivering a fitting response to Karnataka’s unilateral stance.

The AIADMK leader warned that the state government’s inaction risked turning the fertile Cauvery delta region into a desert, and sought immediate and robust intervention to protect Tamil Nadu’s crucial share of Cauvery waters.