Transport Minister and Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the Cauvery dispute and resolve it amicably.
“I think the Prime Minister should call a meeting of the parties to the dispute and work towards resolving it,” Mr. Reddy said.
“Some leaders are saying that there is no need for the Prime Minister’s intervention. But I believe he has every right to intervene in the issue. If he does not have the right, who else has?” he said.
He was speaking to journalists after launching 50 new buses to be run by the North Western Karnataka Transport Corporation in Hubballi.
To a query, he said that the former Chief Minister and Janata Dal(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy should support with compelling evidence his allegations about corruption in the State government rather than make unsubstantiated claims. “If the former Chief Minister [Mr. Kumaraswamy] has any documents to prove his cases, we will take it seriously and order inquiries,” he said.
Mr. Reddy refused to respond to the announcement of the proposed alliance between the BJP and the Janata Dal(S). He only said that it is their internal matter and it is left to the leaders of those two parties. “However, the Congress will win over 20 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and the BJP will be reduced to just around two or three seats,” he said.
About Basavaraj Rayaraddi’s demand for six Deputy Chief Ministers, Mr. Reddy said that the question is irrelevant and the discussion is unnecessary. “We already have a Chief Minister and a Deputy Chief Minister and they are functionally effectively. When the party high command has not created any more additional Deputy Chief Minister posts, there is no need to talk about it now,” he said.
