BELAGAVI
Discussion on the Kalsa-Bhandura water diversion project continued to take centerstage at the ongoing winter session of the State legislature on Thursday.
Goa politics was also discussed in the Assembly, with Congress and BJP leaders expressing confident of their respective parties winning the forthcoming elections in Goa.
Leaders of various political parties comprising JDS President and former Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy, Opposition Leader in the Assembly Jagdish Shettar, CT Ravi , YSV Datta among others strongly voiced their opinions over the delay in implementing the project and urged for immediate measures.
Opening the debate, Kumarswamy, under whose tenure the foundation stone of the controversial project was laid in September 2006, spearheaded the attack.
Stating that the project was on paper since decades, he said first attempt was made by Karnataka during the regime of S M Krishna, then Karnataka chief minister in 1999.
“When the plan was charted around 2002, Goa’s consent was also taken. However, regimes in both the states changed and age-old politics intervened that led to the dispute between both the states,” said Kumarswamy, urging the government to initiate means and measures to implement the project.
“I understand that the project has become the bone of contention for political parties, hence I won’t mind if the BJP takes the initiative and credit of implementing the project and in the bargain win all the 120 seats of the State Assembly in north Karnataka region,” said Kumarswamy, taking a jibe at Jagdish Shettar.
While Karnataka chief minister Siddaramiah who was present in the house preferred to remain silent in the debate, Minister for Water Resources M B Patil, who was asked to reply to the debate and present governments plan in implementing the project, said that he would do so on Thursday.
Taking the jibe at Congress leaders Jagdish Shettar said, “It seems Congress leaders have more confidence on Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose intervention they are demanding. This is evident by the fact as no one approached former PM Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention.”
