The BJP chose to go silent on the vexed Mhadei water diversion issue, a topic which was high on the Party's manifesto in the recently concluded Karnataka elections. When BJP's national general secretary C T Ravi addressed a press conference in the capital on Monday, he was categorical in saying that the Party would refrain from commenting on the contentious issue to avoid further controversy and quickly added that since the matter is in court all States should wait for the verdict.
Undoubtedly, the ball is in the judiciary's court, but unfortunately, it took an electoral drubbing for C T Ravi to unveil the reality. The BJP manifesto released for the Karnataka election had promised to complete all pending irrigation projects, including the Kalasa Bhandura, in a time-bound manner. The Congress had gone a step further and promised utilisation of 100 per cent water allocated to Mhadei besides completion of all components of the Mhadei project in five years with a total outlay of Rs 3,000 crore.
C T Ravi's admission that the court will have the final say is testimony that the issue was being used to leverage a political advantage, both by BJP and Congress. The promises doled out in respective manifestos become meaningless in that context. Also, the hue and cry raised by the political class, the calls for candlelight protests, and the numerous other mini-agitations and human chains appear as more emotive actions to target individual leaders. The periodic flare-up followed by spells of eerie silence indicates that the issue has become more political than the projected lifeline.
No questions have been raised over Mhadei since Karnataka's electoral fire has died down. The entire political fraternity has remained muted because Mhadei has been a double-edged sword for both BJP and Congress. The BJP in Karnataka may wash its hands off now that they have lost the assembly elections, but the Congress, for all its promises, can't move on Mhadei unless the court decides. In Goa, the BJP has not said a word apart from the oft-repeated slogan 'Mother Mhadei will be protected', and the Congress, which is yet to get a foothold in the State, has no say on the matter, having been reduced to a minuscule and voiceless minority.
Nonetheless, a notable positive for Goa and a mini-victory for Sawant is the fact that the Centre has notified PRAWAH (Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony), the water management authority for the Mhadei River, and Panaji named as headquarters.
Meanwhile, on the speculated cabinet expansion, another much-talked-about issue, CT Ravi stated that it is the chief minister's prerogative and added that Sawant had not broached the subject with the central leadership. Yes, it's Sawant's call, but it intrigues everyone when leaders visiting the State exude confidence over the elusive cabinet expansion more than the CM himself. Perhaps, this has baffled the minister-in-waiting Digambar Kamat that he chose to tell reporters "ask God" in his tongue-in-cheek retort when asked about his induction.
