Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday (July 27, 2026) said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay should not engage with his Karnataka counterpart D.K. Shivakumar over the Cauvery issue; the State government should instead approach the Supreme Court and argue against Karnataka’s push to construct a dam at Mekedatu.

Speaking after the release of a shadow finance budget for Tamil Nadu, Dr. Anbumani said the only solution to the issue would be to call for an all-party meeting and ensure that the voice of the farmers’ unions in Tamil Nadu is the State’s stated position.

“The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu should not engage in any talks with the Chief Minister of Karnataka; he should not travel to Karnataka to discuss the Mekedatu dam. We have not acknowledged the dam at all. So, there is no reason to go there to speak about it. D.K. Shivakumar is upping the tempo before the 2028 Assembly elections in Karnataka,” he said.

Dr. Anbumani said a Cauvery Management Board, which has powers, should be set up to control all the dams in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

“There is a Board, but without any powers. This should be taken up legally; there is no need speak with the Karnataka government on any pretext. Mr. Vijay must call for an all-party meeting and meet the Prime Minister, along with a delegation of MPs and MLAs, to impress upon him. Argue your case in the Supreme Court,” he said.

MoS response

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary on Monday officially responded to Dr. Anbumani’s question in the Rajya Sabha on whether the Union government is aware of the Supreme Court’s February 2018 judgment relating to the Cauvery water dispute, that the upper riparian State, Karnataka, has to obtain the consent of the lower riparian States, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, to construct any kind of structure across the Cauvery.

“As per the Supreme Court judgment dated February 16, 2018, regarding the Cauvery water dispute, there is no mention that the State of Karnataka has to obtain the consent of the other riparian States namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the UT of Puducherry to construct any kind of structure across river Cauvery. The SC order dated February 16, 2018, has found the Clause XVIII of Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) Award of 2007 appropriate and reiterated that ‘Nothing in the order of this Tribunal shall impair the right or power or authority of any State to regulate within its boundaries the use of water or to enjoy the benefit of waters within that State in a manner not inconsistent with the order of this Tribunal’,” Mr. Choudhary said.

Dr. Anbumani said Mr. Choudhury’s position was in direct contradiction to the one taken by former Union Minister of Water Resources Uma Bharti in June, 2015, in a letter written to Dr. Anbumani, regarding the Shivasamudram Run of the River Power Project (SRRP), in which the Union Minister had said that the “views/comments of basin states especially Tamil Nadu and Pudhucherry may be obtained on the DPR of the project and furnished to Central Water Commission along with DPR to enable its examination from inter State angle” in the context of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

She had further said, “The DPR of the project at Mekedatu as and when received will be examined as per the Clause XIII of the final order dated February 5, 2007, of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.”

Dr. Anbumani also said that the party would likely support the BJP with respect to the Delimitation Bill so long as the exercise is not based on “population” and guarantees a uniform 50% rise in the number of seats for all the States, keeping the proportion intact.

Published - July 28, 2026 12:42 pm IST