Opposition shutdown in TN on April 5 over Cauvery

Chennai: Condemning the Modi government and the Tamil Nadu government for “betraying” the state on the Cauvery river issue, major opposition parties on Sunday decided to hold a statewide shutdown protest on April 5.

A meeting of the parties was held at the DMK headquarters here.

The DMK said in a statement issued here that the Central government had failed to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) within six weeks of the apex court’s order of February 16.

The six-week deadline ended on March 29.

The meeting also decided to organise a ‘Securing Cauvery Rights March’ from the Cauvery Delta region in the state to Raj Bhavan here. Leaders of all political parties and people from other walks of life would participate in the march.

According to the statement, black flags would be shown to Prime Minister Narendra Modi whenever he comes to Tamil Nadu for not constituting the CMB.

The meeting denounced the BJP-led central government for acting in the narrow interests of the party vis-a-vis upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka and squeezing the rights of Tamil Nadu by misusing its powers in the Cauvery issue.

Karnataka does not want the CMB to be set up.

The meeting also condemned the Tamil Nadu government for being an “inseparable partner” of the Central government in the latter’s act of taking away the state’s rights.

It flayed the AIADMK for not putting pressure on the Modi government despite having 50 MPs.

Later, speaking to reporters, DMK leader M.K. Stalin said he requested traders associations to postpone their strike from April 3 to April 5.

IANS