Mother Cauvery has brought together all major Opposition parties barring BJP in Tamil Nadu on a common platform. Thousands of activists belonging to the DMK, the Congress, the MDMK, the lefts, the VCK and leaders of various farmers associations took part in the two-day rail roko agitation which commenced on Monday all over Tamil Nadu demanding the immediate constitution of the Cauvery Management Board by the Centre for the judicious and just distribution of Cauvery water.
As leaders and activists marched to railway stations, platforms and tracks, the Southern Railway was forced to cancel and reschedule some of the intra-State services on Monday. “Due to the rail roko agitation, we had to cancel 13 trains, reschedule three trains and partially cancelled three trains on Monday,” said Dhananjayan, chief public relations officer, Southern Railway.
MK Stalin, treasurer and heir apparent of the DMK courted arrest along with hundreds of party workers in Chennai while papa M Karunanidhi, the 93-year-old party chief monitored the progress of the agitation from the ‘war room” in the party head quarters.
Vaiko, the MDMK chief, struggling to get a mooring in Tamil Nadu politics, was the most volatile among the agitators. Despite the scorching heat, Vaiko and hundreds of followers staged a demonstration shouting anti-Narendra Modi and anti-BJP slogans for “continuously cheating the people of Tamil Nadu”.
Though the Rail Roko agitation had been called by various farmers’ associations in Tamil Nadu to give vent to their sense of desperation over the non-release of Cauvery water by the Government of Karnataka, the Opposition parties barring the BJP saw this as an opportunity to regroup as the State is set to witness a bye-election to an Assembly constituency. .
Except the AIADMK and the BJP, all political parties took part in the rail roko agitation. leaders of all political parties including the Congress alleged that the BJP was playing politics by delaying the constitution of the CMB with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly election. “The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal had awarded its verdict in 2007 February. The UPA Government had notified the award as a special notification in 2013. But the CMB is yet to be constituted,” said Stalin before courting arrest.
The news of the GS Jha committee deputed by the Central Government for a status report from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the water shortage, had submitted a report favouring Tamil Nadu boosted the morale of the agitators. The agitation is expected to be more vigorous on Tuesday, the concluding day of the two-day protest to draw the attention of the Centre towards the sufferings of the farmers.
TKS Elangovan, the DMK’s official spokesman, said that if the Union Government further delays the constitution of the CMB, chances are that many farmers would be forced to commit suicide.
But CR Saraswathi, the AIADMK spokesperson came down heavily on the DMK and other parties for the agitation which she described as a ploy to cheat the public. “The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal gave its award in 2007. At that time the DMK was ruling Tamil Nadu. The DMK was also sharing power at the Centre as an important ally of the Congress. It did nothing to get the award notified by the Centre. It was the efforts of our Amma (read Jayalalithaa) which led to the Centre notifying the award in 2013 by a special gazette. The DMK or the Congress has no local standi in this issue,” said Saraswathi.