Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah attended a conference of southern state chief ministers in Chennai last week. After returning to Delhi, he reportedly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the meeting was conducted smoothly and received positive feedback from the participating leaders.
According to the report, Shah told the Prime Minister that a key common issue among Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is river-water sharing. He said he had presented them with a proposal and that the chief ministers welcomed it.
The report said the proposed approach points to river linking as a solution to the long-running water disputes. A draft note on the subject was prepared by Union Minister for Jal Shakti C.R. Patil, and Shah reportedly handed this draft to the chief ministers of the four states.
It also claimed that before his Chennai visit, Shah sent a message to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay through a Tamil Nadu MP, and that this led to Vijay being given a significant role at the conference. The report further stated that a plan is being prepared to link southern rivers with financial assistance from the World Bank, and that Shah had discussed the idea with the chief ministers of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
After the meeting, the Tamil Nadu MP who conveyed Shah’s message was also said to be pleased with the outcome. The report noted Patil’s close ties with Modi and Shah, and suggested that coordinated efforts could help address the southern states’ river-water issues.
