AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan criticized the Tamil Nadu government’s handling of the Cauvery issue, terming their governance ‘kindergarten-level’ and urging a more aggressive judicial approach to secure water from Karnataka.
‘Kindergarten-Level’ Governance
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan on Monday termed the Tamil Nadu government’s performance a “kindergarten-level” display of politics and governance.
Speaking to ANI, he expressed deep concern over the lack of water release from Karnataka despite explicit directives from the Cauvery Water Management Authority. He accused the Tamil Nadu government of failing to exert sufficient pressure through judicial channels. “When the required quantum of water is not being released, you seek the Supreme Court’s intervention to direct the Karnataka government to fall in line. But despite the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s direction to release water, the Karnataka government has failed to do so,” he said.
He urged the administration to adopt a far more aggressive stance in court to pursue contempt charges against the Karnataka leadership. “You need a much stronger approach in the judiciary to ensure that it leads to contempt charges, as the Karnataka government repeatedly doing this amounts to contempt. There has to be a larger thrust and pressure in the judicial system, but this government is sleeping because they are still struggling to figure out how to run a government and handle governance,” he said.
‘Poster Boys’ Ignoring Bureaucrats
Sathyan accused the elected representatives of ignoring experienced senior bureaucrats and relying instead on superficial social media strategies. “They are still in the kindergarten school of learning politics and governance. These elected representatives do not understand what politics and governance are all about, nor are they willing to listen to the senior bureaucrats who are experienced in handling such affairs. They are merely acting as poster boys, interested only in fake marketing and reels. This is a government that seems to feel the judiciary can also be run on reels,” he said.
Taking a jibe at the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, he called him the “number one student of the kindergarten.” “100 days of kindergarten, and I am not sure when they are going to graduate to high school levels and actually deliver for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu. And Vijay is the number one student in this kindergarten, entertaining everyone,” he remarked.
Supreme Court Addresses Cauvery Plea
The Cauvery water dispute is a long-running inter-state river water-sharing conflict with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu being the principal parties. The dispute revolves around how the waters of the Cauvery River should be shared, particularly during years of low rainfall.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Karnataka government to ensure compliance with the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) directions on the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta posted for hearing on August 24, on Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking directions for the release of water, observing that the matter could be taken up then so that an updated status on the water release could be placed before it.
The bench asked Karnataka to ensure compliance with the CWMA directions and adjourned the case.
Tamil Nadu has approached the top court seeking enforcement of a decision by the CWMA directing Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for 15 days. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)