Panaji, Dec 20 (IANS): After Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly seeking environmental clearance for the Mhadei project, Goa Leader of Opposition (LoP) Yuri Alemao has asked the Sawant government to make its stand clear.
“Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gets an appointment and meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding Environmental Clearance for the Mhadei Project. Will the Chief Minister of Goa continue to be the silent spectator and allow EC to be given? I urge Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to make the BJP Government's stand clear,” Congress leader Alemao said.
The opposition parties in Goa, including Congress, have been targeting the BJP government since Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement favouring Karnataka during the Assembly election in the southern state.
In January, during an election rally in Belagavi-Karnataka, Shah had said: "Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of the river to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts."
However, after Karnataka's Assembly elections were won by the Congress, the BJP in Goa expressed apprehension over the Mhadei River issue, saying the detailed project report (DPR) of Karnataka approved by the Central Water Commission has posed a threat to the existence of this river.