BENGALURU, 24 JULY

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday hit back at Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant over his remarks on the Mahadayi river project, saying he had “lost his mental balance” and that the State would proceed with the project.

Shivakumar, also the water resources minister said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Ministers concerned to discuss the matter.

Addressing the Goa Assembly on Tuesday, Sawant had claimed that the Centre would not approve the Mahadayi project. He had also said the Goa government would file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka for trying to divert the Mahadayi water.

“(Sawant) has lost his mental balance; he is not aware of the federal structure. The Mahadayi water award has already been decided, and a tender has been invited,” Shivakumar said. “The tender has been floated, and work must begin. Only forest clearance was required, and we were given a notice — but nowhere were we told not to take up the work”.

“He cannot stop us; he doesn’t have that right. I will start the work. Let them try to stop it—let me see,” Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar urged State MPs to stand united.

“I will meet all the MPs from the State and seek their support. This is a matter of self-respect for the party. It is wrong on the part of the State MPs not to raise their voice on this issue,” he said. “I will try to take an all-party delegation to Delhi”.

Meanwhile, replying to a question on party leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of vote stealing during Lok Sabha election, Shivakumar said, “I agree with his statement. I have also started my own investigation regarding this in the Bengaluru Rural constituency. Many irregularities have taken place here, too.”