CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hit out at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay for remaining silent on the Mekedatu issue and questioned whether he was scared of his Karnataka counterpart, D K Shivakumar.Strongly condemning Shivakumar’s statement that a Union government-appointed expert committee had inspected the site of the proposed balancing reservoir at Mekedatu, Palaniswami said the Tamil Nadu government had not issued any statement on the issue so far.“People of the state are beginning to suspect whether the TN govt is joining hands with the Karnataka govt and cheating Tamils on the Mekedatu issue,” he said in a social media post.He also said the Karnataka CM’s meeting with Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil had raised serious suspicions.“Is the CM aware that a dam cannot be constructed across an inter-state river without the consent of the lower riparian states, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry?” he asked.Palaniswami further demanded that the TN government immediately convene an all-party meeting to condemn the Karnataka government and build pressure on the neighbouring state.
