Yeddyurappa sits in anti-Cauvery water release dharna

Former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Friday launched an attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for asking Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily "without assessment of ground reality" on water storage levels in this state.

Yeddyurappa, who began a day-long dharna to protest the Cauvery River Authority order, demanded that the prime minister withdraw the diktat without "delaying even for a moment".

He stressed that the prime minister should have first sent a central team to the state to study the ground realities before issuing the order.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as chairman of Cauvery River Authority had asked Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily.

Yeddyurappa termed the CRA order "unpardonable crime" and "blow" to the state and said it has hurt the harmonious relations between Kannadigas and Tamils. The prime minister passed the order for the sole reason of "getting cooperation" from Tamil Nadu.

Yeddyurappa said the PM should get the report of the central team currently touring the Cauvery basin districts on Friday itself, and withdraw the order by this evening to "avert tomorrow's Karnataka bandh".

In this age, it's easy to find the storage levels in reservoirs and get all the data sitting in Delhi, he pointed out. "I have decided to stay put here itself (dharna spot) tonight".

He said Saturday's Karnataka bandh (called by Kannada organisations in protest against release of water to Tamil Nadu) is not aimed at promoting the interest of any political parties; it's to protect the interests of the state, farmers in Cauvery basin and drinking water needs of Bangalore.

"I don't know what form tomorrow's bandh will take. If there are law and order problems, the prime minister and the Centre will be responsible," he said and demanded that four central ministers from the state -- S M Krishna, M Mallikarjuna Kharge, M Veerappa Moily and K H Muniyappa -- take a clear stand and convince the prime minister to withdraw the order quickly.

He said Karnataka is facing severe drought and rains have now stopped in the state, while it has commenced in Tamil Nadu.