Sankeshwar: BJP legislator Umesh Katti slammed Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, on Friday, October 18, for siding with Maharashtra on the Mahadayi river dispute. He warned that a new state would be created out of north Karnataka if he did not first solve the water crisis in the region.
It can be recalled that CM BSY, during an election rally in Maharashtra, had said that his government will release the Mahadayi water to the former.
As a response, Katti said that it is “condemnable” for the CM to make “such statements” without having implemented the Mahadayi project first. “If he is unable to release water to north Karnataka and solve the crisis he should bifurcate the state and give us a new state. Solapur and Sangli (in Maharashtra) should be included in the new state. I will fight for this till my last breath,” ANI quoted him as saying at a press conference.
He then accused BSY of making that statement just to pander to the crowds and “attract the voters” in Maharashtra.
Karnataka and Maharashtra have had a long dispute over the Mahadayi river water, which originates in Karnataka. As many as 42 taluks in north Karnataka depend on Mahadayi water, the MLA informed.
(With inputs from ANI)
