On Wednesday, a joint protest was staged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] against the Congress government in Karnataka, where they criticized the government for its alleged mishandling of the Cauvery water issue.
The protest took place in front of the Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha and marked the first instance of collaboration between the BJP and JD(S) following their formal announcement of an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Leaders from the JD(S), including former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, along with several party legislators and officials, joined BJP leaders, including former Chief Ministers B.S. Yediyurappa and D.V. Sadananda Gowda, State President Nalin Kumar Kateel, and numerous legislators and Members of Parliament in the demonstration organized by the BJP.
During the protest, participants held placards and raised slogans against the Congress government, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and the Water Resources Minister. This protest was organized by the BJP to express its discontent with the government's actions.
Last week, the JD(S) decided to form an alliance with the BJP, a decision that followed a meeting between JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP National President J.P. Nadda in New Delhi.
B.S. Yediyurappa criticized the Congress government, particularly Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, accusing them of acting as agents for the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, and neglecting the interests of Karnataka. He condemned the government for its alliance with the DMK as part of the INDIA alliance, asserting that it was betraying the people of Karnataka.
Yediyurappa emphasized that people have begun protesting against this government, and both the BJP and JD(S) are providing their support to these protests. He warned that if the government failed to rectify the situation, the law and order situation in the state would deteriorate, holding the Congress government responsible.
He urged Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to engage with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, with whom they share a positive relationship, regarding the recommendation made by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) to release 3,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery River.
Karnataka has been advised to release this water from September 28 to October 15. Yediyurappa criticized Shivakumar for allegedly suggesting that Karnataka had been receiving additional water and challenged him to reconsider his stance.
Kumaraswamy also accused Shivakumar of displaying indifference toward the Cauvery issue and criticized him for expressing satisfaction with the CWRC's recommendation to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu until October 15. He cited the opinion of a legal expert who suggested that Tamil Nadu had overutilized the water for irrigation and increased acreage, growing multiple crops while Karnataka's farmers struggled to cultivate even a single crop, leading to crop damage in the Cauvery basin area.
