Panaji: A day after the Centre notified the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal’s final award given in 2018 on Karnataka’s request, leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat on Thursday said the people of Goa had been betrayed by the BJP-led state government and accused the NDA government at the Centre of being partisan.
While Chief Minister Pramod Sawant maintained earlier this week that the state government would file an appeal in the Supreme Court to prevent Karnataka from seeking any permissions and clearances to construct the Kalasa-Banduri water diversion project across the Mhadei river, Kamat accused Sawant of succumbing to pressure from the Centre at the cost of Goa’s interest.
“The people of Goa are completely betrayed and let down by the BJP government on Mhadei issue. It is more than evident that both Central and state governments have shown partisan approach towards Karnataka… The Goa government has succumbed to pressure tactics,” Kamat told reporters here on Thursday.
“The needle of suspicion of compromising the interest of Goa clearly points towards Goa government, going by its actions in the last few months,” Kamat said, accusing Sawant of being lethargic on the issue.
The war of words between Sawant and the Opposition heated up last week, after the Supreme Court allowed notification of the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal award given in 2018, on a request made by the Karnataka government.
While Karnataka had claimed that the apex court’s nod for notification of the award was a major victory towards its efforts to divert water from the Mhadei river through its controversial Kalasa-Banduri dam project, the Goa government, as well as the state BJP, have insisted that the nod is merely technical in nature.