Karnataka & TN CMs to meet after 14 years on Cauvery issue

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has proposed bilateral talks with his Karnataka counterpart to seek an amicable solution to the long-standing Cauvery river water-sharing dispute. Vijay is scheduled to visit the neighbouring state on August 3 for talks with Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. Sources said Vijay hopes to make progress on the Cauvery issue before the government’s maiden Budget session begins on August 5. This will be the first visit by a Tamil Nadu CM to Karnataka for bilateral talks on the Cauvery issue in several years. The previous DMK government, despite being allied with the Congress, had maintained that bilateral talks with Karnataka would not yield results and that the issue should be resolved through legal means.Sources said, Vijay hopes to make progress on the Cauvery issue before the government’s maiden Budget session begins on August 5.

There have been several political interventions in the dispute over the years. Then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa held talks with her Karnataka counterpart Jagadish Shettar in 2012 following a suggestion from the Supreme Court.Earlier, then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi held direct talks with his Karnataka counterpart J H Patel in 1996.