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TN being threatened: Jayalalithaa to PM

It would be 'under protest' that a delegation from Tamil Nadu would be attending the Cauvery Monitoring Committee meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said on Friday.

In a letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she said the Karnataka government's sudden desire for an emergency meeting of the CMC, and that of the Cauvery River Authority, "seems very suspicious".

Following the Supreme Court's order to release 1.25tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu everyday till a final decision was taken by the CRA, Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna had written to Vajpayee urging him to convene the meeting.

Jayalalithaa said the protest was due to the "shabby treatment" meted out to Tamil Nadu at the last meeting of the CRA under the chairmanship of Vajpayee, and the "suspicious motives" of the Centre in "hastily convening" the meeting, "thereby blatantly siding" with Karnataka.

"The undue haste on the part of the Centre has led to apprehensions in Tamil Nadu's mind that the Union government may utilise the opportunity to work against the state's interests," she said.

Jayalalithaa referred to the last CRA meeting on August 27, when Krishna said he was not ready to discuss the issue of sharing of water in times of distress.

She quoted Krishna as saying that any discussion on the issue could be held only after the end of September.

She also said Tamil Nadu had been given only 48 hours' notice to attend the meeting.

"With a notice of just 48 hours, and in a situation wherein the waters of the Cauvery released by Karnataka have not even reached our borders as yet, Tamil Nadu is forced to attend the meeting of the monitoring committee," she added.

The chief minister also claimed that the state was being "threatened with dire consequences".

Cauvery Water Dispute: The Complete Coverage

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