Stalin writes to CM Vijay seeking all-party meeting on Cauvery issue

“We should bury our differences and remain united on the Cauvery water dispute,” DMK president M.K. Stalin said. File

DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday (November 14, 2026) urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to convene an all-party meeting following Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s assertion that no one could prevent the State from going ahead with the construction of a dam at Mekedatu.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr. Stalin said arrangements should be made for a delegation of MPs from Tamil Nadu to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submit the resolutions adopted at the proposed all-party meeting and by the Tamil Nadu Assembly in June opposing the construction of the dam.

“We should bury our differences and remain united on the Cauvery water dispute,” the former Chief Minister said.

He said Tamil Nadu could not afford to remain silent when the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister had become vocal about his government’s plan to construct the dam. “We should convene an all-party meeting to express our opposition to the Karnataka Chief Minister’s stand and demonstrate our unity,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said the Cauvery issue was not merely a water-sharing dispute between two States but was historically and emotionally linked to the lives of the people of Tamil Nadu. “The livelihood of Delta farmers depends on Cauvery water. We cannot remain indifferent to Karnataka’s plan to construct a dam,” he said.

He said past experience had taught Tamil Nadu that negotiations with Karnataka would not help secure its rights and that the State had to pursue legal remedies.

“That is why I had cautioned against your visit to Karnataka to meet the Chief Minister,” he said.