Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay must visit Karnataka to hold talks, and the Tamil Nadu government must pass a resolution in the Assembly endorsing the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s directive to Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, said the DMDK general secretary Premallatha Vijayakant in Hogenakkal on Saturday. She was leading the party’s protests against the proposed dam by Karnataka.

Speaking at the protests, she also urged the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to meet the visiting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and urge him to request his party’s government in Karnataka to release the water.

Underlining that Karnataka was not an enemy of Tamil Nadu and the Dravida Nadu included the four southern States, the DMDK leader differed with the opposition parties’ almost unanimous objection to the Chief Minister’s ‘proposed visit’ to Karnataka on August 3. If the Chief Minister could visit a temple in Karnataka for his personal gains, he definitely can visit Karnataka for the good of Tamil Nadu, she contended. And, so can the Karnataka Chief Minister. “Why can’t D.K. Shivakumar visit Tamil Nadu?” she asked.

Since, despite many court rulings, there has been no solution to the water sharing, it is imperative that the Chief Minister go to Karnataka for talks. “We want both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to thrive and coexist. It is imperative for the Chief Minister to convene an all-party meeting and make a joint representation to the Prime Minister.”

Later addressing the media, she urged Mr. Vijay to step out of Chennai, visit Hogenakkal, Mettur, and the delta districts. “We ask the Chief Minister to come and see people’s problems,” Ms. Premallatha said.

Tamil Nadu, which used to be a power surplus State at one point, is now grappling with power shortage in even the Chief Minister’s own constituency, leading to the public are protesting on the streets. There is water shortage. The Chief Minister should work to turn the State into both a power and water surplus State, the DMDK leader said.

The protests also saw the participation of the DMK led by the party district secretary (West) P. Palaniappan. Before spearheading the protests in Hogenakkal, the DMDK leader inspected Biligundulu, the entry point of Cauvery into Tamil Nadu in Krishnagiri. She took out a bottle of water from Cauvery and poured it back into the river wishing water surplus and prosperity for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Premallatha also spoke in Kannada, directing her address to Mr. Shivakumar, and urged him to heed the CWMA’s directive, saying, “Air and water belong to all, and they cannot be confined to borders.”