The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) on Thursday clarified that it would not allow even a single stone to be laid by the government of neighboring Karnataka state for the construction of a dam at Makidatu across the Cauvery river, “without the approval of Tamil Nadu”.
A resolution to this effect was passed in a meeting chaired by newly appointed TNCC president B Manickam Tagore at the district Congress committee meeting held at Satyamurthy Bhavan, the party headquarters in Chennai.
Tagore chaired the meeting which was attended by Congress Legislative Party leader and state tourism minister S Rajeshkumar along with senior officials.
One of the three resolutions passed at the meeting was related to Tamil Nadu’s dispute with Karnataka over the construction of Mekedatu Dam.
“The Karnataka government is making intense efforts to construct a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekedatu. This attempt is not only inconsistent with the final judgment of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court in 2018, but also constitutes contempt of court,” the decision said.
“TNCC president P Manickam Tagore’s comments that we will not allow even a single brick to be laid for the construction of the Mukhedatu Dam across the Cauvery river without the approval of the State of Tamil Nadu is a position that this meeting welcomes and greatly appreciates,” the resolution said.
This meeting also strongly resolved that the state unit of the Congress would strongly “oppose” and protest the Karnataka government’s attempts to build a dam at Mekkedatu in order to protect the rights of farmers in the Cauvery delta region.
On June 19, the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution against Karnataka’s move to build a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekedatu, expressing support for all actions taken by the state government on the issue.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay read out the government’s resolution and members of the Opposition including Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami spoke about it.
The second resolution passed at the meeting praised Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay for “acting with composure” over the past two months, as he faces the challenge of debt burden created by the DMK government on the one hand and the administrative hurdles faced by the central government’s neglect of Tamil Nadu.
“Observing all this, it is clear that the Chief Minister is emerging as an irreplaceable political force in Tamil Nadu matching the legendary status of Kamaraj and M G Ramachandran,” the statement said.
The resolution said that despite being new to governance, this meeting expresses its gratitude and appreciation to the Prime Minister for acting with deep commitment to the development of Tamil Nadu.
The Congress Party is one of the first political parties to form an alliance with TVK when it was unable to get 10 seats in Parliament to form the government.
The Congress contested 28 seats under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance and won in five Assembly segments. After the election results were announced, it formed an alliance with TVK.
The third resolution passed at the meeting said that Tagore has a formidable task to avail the rare opportunity to strengthen the foundational infrastructure of the Congress Party.
The resolution, congratulating Tagore on assuming the office of TNCC president, said that after the Congress party lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967, alliances were formed with the Dravidian movements to establish governments.
“Though the Congress was part of those alliances, it could not directly participate in governance. In such a historic turn, I assumed leadership today at a time when two ministers from our party are assuming responsibilities in the TVK government,” the statement said.
“The leadership of the Congress party has presented to you a wonderful opportunity to usher in a new era that has not happened in the last 60 years of Tamil Nadu’s history. This is a rare opportunity that no previous leader got. A huge task lies ahead of you to utilize this rare opportunity to strengthen the foundational infrastructure of the Congress Party,” the statement added.
