Cauvery row: Siddaramaiah urges Jayalalithaa to protect Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu

With Tamil organisations calling for a bandh on September 16 over Cauvery River water row, Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged his Tamil Nadu counterpart to protect the interests of Kannadigas living there.

On Monday, angry mobs burnt Tamil Nadu-registered vehicles and damaged properties owned by Tamilians in Karnataka in the wake of Supreme Court directing the state to release Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka fears that there could be retaliatory attacks on Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu tomorrow.

Also read: Cauvery dispute: SC pulls up Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, says maintain peace

PROTECT THE CITIZENS

"I urge you to protect the interests of Kannadigas living in Tamil Nadu. At the same time, Karnataka has taken steps to ensure that Tamilians are not harmed in Karnataka. The government is committed to protect them," Siddaramaiah said in his letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

At a separate public event in Chikkaballapura town, Siddaramaiah today lamented that Jayalalithaa was not inclined to resolve the issue amicably. "Nevertheless, we will continue our fight in the courts. We will protect the interests of our farmers," he said.

Also read: Chennai RJ's Cauvery take: Remember, it was Karnataka that helped us during floods

The Supreme Court had asked the Karnataka government on September 12 to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu daily, after modifying its earlier September 5 order for the release of 15,000 cusecs that led to protests across the state.