Tamil Nadu: The Marxist and Communist parties of India have demanded the postponement of the proposed meeting of the Cauvery Management Commission. This meeting, scheduled to be held in Delhi on April 29th, is said to be the Commission’s 50th meeting. The meeting is expected to result in a decision regarding the sharing of Cauvery River water between Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, and Kerala.
Marxist leader P. Shanmugam stated that the election process in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry has been completed, and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4th. It is inappropriate to hold such an important meeting when new governments have not yet been formed in these states. He demanded that the April 29th meeting be postponed and reconvened only after the formation of new governments.
M. Veerapandian of the Communist Party of India expressed similar concerns. He noted that these states currently have caretaker governments in place and the election code of conduct is in place. In such circumstances, full participation of state representatives is not possible, so it would be better to postpone the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Union has also raised objections to this issue. After a meeting in Nagai, Union President Kaveri Dhanapalan said that if the Cauvery Water Management meeting is held at a time when Tamil Nadu has a caretaker government, it could disrupt the balance and give unfair advantages to other states.
She also said that the central government should hold the meeting only after the formation of new state governments. The farmers’ union has warned that if the meeting is not postponed, a major protest will be held in Nagapattinam on April 29 under the banner of the United Farmers’ Movement.
Following this entire issue, political and regional tensions over the Cauvery water sharing issue appear to be rising once again. Various organizations say that the participation of elected governments from all states is essential in such important decisions to ensure fair and balanced decisions.
