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TN finance minister accuses Centre of bias

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government at the Centre is biased against Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery waters row, state Finance Minister C Ponnaiyan told reporters in Chennai on Monday.

Returning from the Cauvery River Authority meeting held in Delhi on Sunday and chaired by Prime Minister Vajpayee, where he had been deputed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Ponnaiyan said the Centre went overboard to favour Karnataka.

He denied reports that the delegation had agreed to Vajpayee's decision directing Karnataka to release 9000 cusecs (0.8 thousand million cubic feet) of Cauvery water a day to Tamil Nadu.

He said any quantum of water less than the 1.25 tmc feet a day fixed by the Supreme Court was unacceptable to the state.

The delegation, he said, had registered its protest against the Centre's bias at the CRA meeting itself.

He reiterated Jayalalithaa's assertion that the state government would move the Supreme Court on the CRA ruling "as early as possible".

While Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony remains neutral on the issue, Pondicherry has supported the Tamil Nadu government.

Cauvery Water Dispute: The Complete Coverage

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