Opposition parties in Karnataka on Wednesday said they were against the Supreme Court's Tuesday order to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. It asked the government to not release water from the river till Thursday, September 29, PTI reported. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had called for an all-party meeting discuss the water-sharing dispute with Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka Parliamentary Affairs and Law Minister TB Jayachandra said that the Opposition – the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (Secular) and Raitha Sangha – had expressed its views, but that the government will come to a final decision only at the Cabinet meeting later in the day. Jayachandra, however, did not reveal what Opposition leaders said at the all-party meet, which was attended by MPs, legislators, district-in-charges of regions in the Cauvery basin and floor leaders of both Houses of the state.

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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier said that whatever be the outcome of the Cabinet meeting, they will give priority to the drinking water need of their own state. "So when they [Supreme Court judges] say release water, it immediately does not become a law or an order," he had said.

The BJP had said it will back the Siddaramaiah government's decision. Janata Dal(Secular) chief and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda had also spoken in favour of the chief minister. All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijay Singh had said, "The Karnataka Assembly's recent decision to release water only for drinking represents the will of the people."

Timeline

  • September 5 - The Supreme Court directs Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.
  • September 9 - The top court reduces the quantity of water to 12,000 cusecs, but widespread protests erupt in Karnataka.
  • September 16 - A day-long bandh is held in Tamil Nadu in protest against the violence targeting Tamilians in Karnataka over the water-sharing dispute. 
  • September 19 - The Cauvery Supervisory Committee directs Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every day from September 21 to September 30.
  • September 20 - The court revises the figure to 6,000 cusecs, directing Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every day from September 21 to September 27.
  • September 21 - The Karnataka Cabinet decides to not release water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.
  • September 22 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah meets Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti in Delhi to explain the state's difficulty in complying with the Supreme Court order.
  • September 23 - The Karnataka legislature passes a resolution that says they cannot release Cauvery water for anything but drinking water purposes in Bengaluru and other towns and villages that fall in the river basin.
  • September 26 - The Karnataka government files a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a modification to its order from September 20.
  • September 27 - The Supreme Court orders the Karnataka government to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for three days, till the next hearing in the matter on September 29.
  • September 28 - The Karnataka government holds an all-party meeting to discuss the dispute.