New Delhi, May 03: The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday.
Calling Tamil Nadu a “water-scarcity” state, Karunanidhi said the Centre should “wake-up” and take responsible and pro-active steps to solve water disputes the state has with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Karunanidhi, on a two-day visit to New Delhi, said Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been in a denial mode to release excess water to Tamil Nadu.
“Unity should not be a one-way traffic. It has to be both ways. Tamil Nadu has all resources but it is a water-scarcity state. Neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka don’t give excess water to us,” he said after inaugurating ‘Periyar Centre’ in South Delhi.
“The Centre should at least wake up now and examine these issues minutely and act in a responsible manner to solve these problems. They should take steps quickly. I am saying this in New Delhi, the country’s capital,” he said.
Tamil Nadu is involved in water-related rows with Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
Both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been denying water, which is in excess in the two states, for a long time and has made many people in Tamil Nadu suffer, he said.
Referring to Union Minister Farooq Abdullah’s speech in which he asked Karunanidhi to come out of the state and work for the entire country, the Chief Minister said he has been doing whatever he can for the nation from where he is based.
“It is not necessary that one has to come here (national politics) and work for the nation.”
Heaping praises on Dravidian stalwart E V R Periyar, Karunanidhi hoped that the Periyar Centre would educate people in this part of the country about the revolutionary steps Periyar had taken and his preachings.
He also announced a donation of Rs five lakh for the Periyar Centre.
—-PTI—