Link rivers to end water disputes: BJP

CHENNAI: Stating that linking of rivers would be the permanent solution to the ongoing water crisis between States, BJP national secretary K Lakshman on Wednesday said that the interests of the farmers of five districts of Tamil Nadu and those of Keralites should be safeguarded.“Before taking any decision on Mullaiperiyar, issues pertaining to the livelihood of farmers should be addressed,” he said and added that the Centre was remaining a mute spectator on the issue.“Earlier, it was considered impossible to link roads, but the Vajpayee-led NDA Government completed the ‘Golden Quadrilateral Project’, linking major cities. The same idea was propagated when the linking of rivers from Cauvery to Ganges was proposed by the NDA. Had we been given another chance, we would have completed that as well,” he said.Asked why the BJP-ruled Karnataka was depriving Tamil Nadu of its rightful share of water, Lakshman maintained that such disputes would come to an end once rivers are linked.Condemning UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s reported remarks that the BJP was stalling Parliament, Lakshman said it was not the BJP, but the Congress that was stalling  Parliament.