Haveri(Karnataka): Karnataka Opposition leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Union government is not responding to the request of bringing back the mortal remains of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar by a private plane.
Siddaramaiah paid a visit to Naveen's family in Chalageri village in Haveri district and consoled them. He said that Congress leader M.B. Koliwad's son has written to the central government seeking permission to bring back the body of Naveen in his private aircraft from Ukraine but there is no response from the central government on the issue yet.
Siddaramaiah added, "Naveen's death is a great loss to the state. His parents are shedding tears and it is the responsibility of the central government to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen. I will also write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this matter".
Earlier, on Tuesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the authorities have recovered the body of Naveen. "I have spoken to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. He has informed that the body of Naveen has been kept at the mortuary. He has assured that there is heavy shelling in the area and as soon as it stops, the attempts will be made to bring his mortal remains to India," he said.
Naveen was killed on March 1 after being hit by Russian shelling in Ukraine's eastern city Kharkiv. He was out of his bunker in search of food early in the morning when he was hit by shelling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called up Naveen's father and consoled him.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his displeasure over the statement made by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on mediation over the Mekedatu project.
"I am writing a letter to strongly object to the statement made by the Union Jal Shakti minister and cabinet colleague Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the issue of the Mekedatu reservoir project. The remarks by the minister have hurt the sentiments of people of Karnataka who are patiently waiting for the Central government to give environmental clearance for the project," said Siddaramaiah.
Earlier, on February 5, Union Jal Shakti Minister in his statement has said, "I hope and wish that both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will resolve it, like how Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh did it. The two states have now agreed to connect Ken and Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Any issue can be resolved if talks are held. The Centre can only facilitate and help technically, and for that, both states have to come forward."
Siddaramaiah alleged that the statement is politically motivated to make inroads into Tamil Nadu and is an attempt to mislead the people of Karnataka. "We strongly condemn this statement made by the minister against the interests of Karnataka. We were hoping the 'Double Engine' government will add speed to the aspirations of people, but in reality, both the engines have ceased to pull the state to a better place today," he added.
He accentuated that Karnataka has the technical, moral, and legal right to access excess water after releasing the rightful share of Tamil Nadu. About 60-70 TMC of excess water flows to Tamil Nadu every year from the Cauvery basin in Karnataka, which otherwise, can be judiciously used to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and the surrounding districts. He added that the Mekedatu reservoir will serve the best purpose in storing the excess water and also generate 400 MW of electricity and claimed that Tamil Nadu is using the Cauvery issue just for political reasons.
“The population of Bengaluru has already crossed 1.5 crores and more than 3.5 crore people are in the 12 districts where Cauvery water can be distributed. Only 30 percent of the people in Bengaluru have access to Cauvery water”, he stated.
Mekedatu reservoir can address the challenges we are facing to ensure smooth distribution of water to the Bengaluru region for the next 50 years. The Karnataka government has sent 2 DPRs to the Central government for approval, and unfortunately, we are still waiting for the environmental clearance, he said.
Siddaramaiah targeted the central government and added that injustice from the central government to Karnataka is not new, the Mahadayi project is yet to see the light of day and Mekedatu has become a political tool for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to influence the Tamil Nadu electorate.
"It is clear that at the Centre, the government has failed to grant necessary clearances and the state government has failed to highlight the urgency of the project. I strongly condemn the Jal Shakti minister's statement and urge Prime Minister to discuss the issue in the cabinet to grant all the clearances at the earliest to implement the Mekedatu project, and to allocate additional funds for all the pending irrigation projects", Siddaramaiah stated.
Also Read: K'nataka student's mortal remains shifted to mortuary in Ukraine: CM Bommai
