Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran criticised the TVK government over the delay in opening the Mettur Dam and the alleged expenditure incurred for Chief Minister Vijay’s visit to inaugurate the opening, as reported in Vikatan.
Speaking to reporters after attending a BJP state office-bearers’ meeting in Tiruchirappalli, Nagenthran said the Mettur Dam should have been opened on June 12 but was not opened at the appropriate time.
He alleged that up to ₹5 crore of public money was spent for Vijay to travel and open the dam.
“The Mettur Dam was constructed at a total cost of ₹4 crore. But now, up to ₹5 crore has been spent just for the Chief Minister to go and open the dam,” Nagenthran said.
Calling Vijay a “costly Chief Minister”, he questioned the expenditure on the event while farmers were facing a shortage of irrigation water.
Nagenthran also criticised the state government over the release of Cauvery water from Karnataka.
“We have repeatedly urged the government to speak to Karnataka and ask for the release of Cauvery water. But the Chief Minister has not spoken even one word about it,” he said.
He questioned why the Tamil Nadu government had not put pressure on Karnataka despite the Congress being part of the ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu and the Congress being in power in Karnataka.
Nagenthran said the Cauvery water that is being released now would take at least 12 days to reach the tail-end areas.
He stated that around 2 lakh hectares of agricultural land had already been left uncultivated due to the lack of adequate irrigation water.
“The government should immediately provide compensation to the farmers who have been severely affected,” he said.
Referring to the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s directions, Nagenthran said Karnataka was supposed to release 10 TMC of water in June and 94 TMC during July and August.
He alleged that Karnataka had not released the stipulated quantity and said Tamil Nadu farmers continued to protest over the issue.
Nagenthran also attacked the TVK government over its election promises.
“Vijay has not fulfilled any of his election promises. This is the current plight of the TVK government,” he said.
Attack Over Assembly Proceedings
Nagenthran also criticised the government for what he described as unnecessary religious issues being brought into Assembly proceedings.
He said that if Hindus also began asserting that their religion was the most important, the rulers should consider whether such a government could continue.
He further alleged that there was no policy unity among the parties in the ruling alliance.
According to Nagenthran, Congress leaders were projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate, while the TVK side was projecting Vijay for the same position.
“Who is qualified to become Prime Minister is a separate matter. But if they cannot even agree among themselves, what benefit are they going to provide to the people of Tamil Nadu?” he asked.
Nagenthran also referred to a Congress minister threatening to resign and said the government was functioning amid confusion.
He said the government appeared to believe that people were interested in watching the Assembly proceedings live.
However, he claimed that people were actually watching the “low-quality debates and actions of those in power.”
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