Goa CM's Mahadayi Remark an Insult to Kannadigas: Siddaramaiah

Sawant reportedly told Goa Assembly that Union Minister Yadav informed him that Centre won't give its nod for the project

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant's recent statement in the Goa Legislative Assembly that Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav informed him that the Union Government will not give its nod for the Mahadayi river diversion project (also known as Kalasa-Banduri project) is an insult to the people of Karnataka. Siddaramaiah said they will fight legally, politically, and morally until Karnataka gets its rightful share.

"Why hasn't the Union Government officially communicated any concerns? Is this how federalism works under BJP? Backdoor sabotage, silence, and betrayal? What crime have Kannadigas committed? Are we being punished for not surrendering to the BJP?" the CM said. Mahadayi is not for luxury or waste, it is for the drinking water needs of North Karnataka, he said. "For decades, our people have waited for justice. But BJP's and JDS' Karnataka leaders have no spine to speak up. Their silence today will be remembered tomorrow. Despite the 2018 tribunal verdict allocating 13.42 tmcft of water to us, the Centre, hand in glove with Goa's BJP govt, is blocking the implementation of our rightful project," the CM added.