Patel reports sick, asks for more time

The Karnataka Cabinet on Monday sought deferment of the meeting to the second week of October because of the indisposition of Chief Minister J H Patel. Down with jaundice but discharged from hospital, Patel chaired the Cabinet meeting after which he wrote to Vajpayee on Monday seeking postponement as doctors had advised him against travelling.

Vajpayee, who is out of the Capital, has been informed about Patel’s letter but it’s possible he may decide togo ahead with the meeting to send out the message that he means business.

“There is still one full day left for the meeting by which time we hope Patel recovers,” was what sources in the government said this evening. But a final decision was yet to be taken.

Postponing the meeting at this stage will not only cause problems for Vajpayee but also for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi who is facing an Opposition onslaught led by the AIADMK which has charged him with failing to protect the interests of the state.

Vajpayee, despite his busy poll schedule, had convened the meeting on September 29 only because of the urgency of the situation. The monitoring committee of the CRA had recommended that Karnataka should release three tmc ft of water by September-end and another six tmc ft in October. Karnataka had rejected the recommendation saying that the state did not have enough water in its reservoirs because of paucity of rainfall in the Cauvery basin.

It was only in August last that the Vajpayeegovernment brokered what was described as a “historic” accord between the two states which preceded the setting up of the CRA to monitor the implementation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s interim award under which Karnataka has to release 205 tmc ft of water to Tamil Nadu in a year.

Patel’s indisposition may not be exaggerated but political motives are also being attributed to Karnataka’s inability to release water. Polling in five key Assembly constituencies, including four in Bangalore, is scheduled for October 3. And if the state government were to “succumb” to “pressure” from Tamil Nadu and release water, the ruling JD (United) which is contesting the elections in alliance with the BJP will be at a distinct disadvantage.

The loss of even a few seats could become crucial, especially when a close race between the JD (U)-BJP is being predicted in the Assembly elections.

By seeking a postponement of the meeting to October 10 or 11, Patel could also find himself in a better bargainingposition in a post-poll scenario. His partymen have already been saying that irrespective of which party wins more number of seats in the alliance the chief ministership should go to the JD (U).

That the century-old Cauvery dispute has eluded resolution simply because political parties have been using it to derive mileage has yet again proved true. AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha has played no mean role in sparking off the present crisis. Just before going off on a fortnight-long vacation, she went to town slamming the accord brokered by Vajpayee and blasted Karunanidhi for betraying the interests of Tamil Nadu.

If only Jayalalitha had not raised the temperature, politicians of both states admit that the issue would not have assumed the serious proportions that it has. Karunanidhi and Patel enjoy a good rapport and but for Jayalalitha queering the pitch, the row could have been settled with either state taking hawkish positions.

Sources in the ruling party in Karnataka are also livid at the “absurd” waythe CRA had handled the present dispute. “The monitoring committee first directed us to release nine tmc ft of water and then went on a fact-finding tour of the two states. It should have been the other way round,” they said. The experts’ team visited the basin areas in the state on Monday.

They also said that any decision taken by the CRA in the absence of Patel would amount to an “ex parte” decision.