Hogenakkal is now BJP's headache in TN

Fri, Jun 6 02:44 AM

Even as the first BJP Government in south India, led by B S Yeddyurappa, is settling down to business in Karnataka, the Tamil Nadu unit of the party is keeping its fingers crossed, hoping their counterparts in the neighbouring state won't take a tough stand on the Hogenakkal issue.

The Rs 1,334-crore Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project, which aims to supply drinking water to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts in Tamil Nadu, was opposed by the Karnataka BJP, whose leader and present Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's visit to the spot during the run-up to the Assembly election in March had given rise to a row.

After putting the project on hold and thus capping the controversy for the time being, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had announced earlier that the project would be completed as per schedule. However, on the other side of the border, the new CM, soon after assuming charge, announced that an all-party meeting would be held to discuss the issue and said legal experts would be consulted. Yeddyurappa's tough stand had its repercussions in Tamil Nadu, which has a history of intense water rows with its neighbours, most of them yet to be resolved.

According to a BJP worker, if the new Government in Bangalore decides to seek legal recourse, it would delay implementation of the project and thus wash off any goodwill the party has in Tamil Nadu. "As it is, we are a minor party in the state. If our Karnataka counterparts take a tough stand on the issue, it will be a big setback for us, at least in the immediate future," he admitted. Also at stake is the nationalist party image that the BJP projects in Tamil Nadu, as opposed to the overtly regional identity that the Dravidian parties here adopt.

Apart from harming the interests of the party, Hogenakkal may also render the BJP untouchable as an ally in the state. According to an AIADMK leader, though his party has some common agenda with the BJP, being on the wrong side of a sensitive water dispute is unthinkable.

"As the project envisages utilising a portion of water allotted to the state and not any fresh allocation, the feeling in the state is that Karnataka is opposing the project unnecessarily. It is of great interest for the party here to solve the issue amicably," said an observer, pointing out that the project, once completed, would provide safe drinking water to people in the two backward districts which are now forced to consume water with fluoride content.

BJP state chief L Ganesan seems to have understood this unenviable position when he commented last week that the project could be renamed Dharmapuri drinking water project to stress that the project fell in Tamil Nadu. In another statement, he suggested that the two CMs negotiate to solve the issue, a suggestion that was waved away by the DMK and its allies.

"The Tamil Nadu Government, on a request from the Congress in Karnataka, had frozen the project for a month. Now, they should give Yeddyurappa a little time to settle down and assess the situation. In the meantime, with Yeddyurappa expressing his desire to talk to Karunanidhi on the issue, the latter should reciprocate," Ganesan told The Indian Express. Karunanidhi had ruled out consulting the Centre or Karnataka for implementation of the project and added the project would be finished by 2011 as per schedule.

Ironically, it is the DMK and TNCC that seem to be breathing easy after the election debacle in Karnataka. When the issue cropped up, it was alleged the Congress leaders there would not be able to go against the wishes of Karunanidhi who is a major alliance leader at the Centre. Similarly, Karunanidhi was accused of "shelving" the project in favour of Congress by the Opposition AIADMK and MDMK. Now that the state governments are clearly on two different sides of the political spectrum, there may not be any backroom concessions.

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