Hyderabad, January 01: As expected, all the political parties, including the ruling Congress, are preparing to find ways to undo the injustice meted out to Andhra Pradesh by Justice Brijesh Kumar’s Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.
The most vocal among them was former chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu who said he would not hesitate to campaign against the award in collaboration with like-minded parties at the national level. “The award is a death knell to farmers of AP. It is the result of the inefficiency of the AP government in arguing its case in the tribunal,” said Chandrababu Naidu who arrived here from Guntur after addressing a massive farmers’ convention on Thursday night.
He blamed the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy for the “disaster” alleging that the former chief minister and other Congress leaders were more interested in minting money out of the Jalayagnam programme rather than protecting the long-term interests of the State at the tribunal or in any other fora. “Let us go to Delhi and fight it out,” he said and demanded that the State government convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, farmers’ organisations in coastal districts are up in arms against the tribunal’s award. The Krishna Delta Parirakshana Samiti, which predicted that the river course would become a desert because of the award, demanded immediate measures for the review of the award. “The award is unacceptable. Injustice has been done to AP on all counts,” Samiti member Mandali Buddha Prasad said.
The Congress too expressed its displeasure with the tribunal’s verdict. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said the government may prefer an appeal while Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy said the award would harm the interests of farmers in the State. Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi blamed Chandrababu Naidu for the delay in execution of irrigation projects which made the State lose its legitimate share of assured waters.
He wanted the government and Congress MPs to bring pressure on the Centre to stall the tribunal verdict.
–Agencies