AIADMK not in alliance with BJP: Edappadi K Palaniswami amid pressure over Cauvery Management Board

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has told the state's Assembly that his party, the AIADMK, is not in alliance with the BJP and is not providing it support in any blanket manner.

Palaniswami's clarification came in the face of accusations by opposition parties that the AIADMK has been soft with the BJP-led government Centre over the Supreme Court-mandated created of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB).

However, the clarification also comes against the backdrop of the proposed no-confidence motion against the NDA government that has gained ground since the TDP quit the alliance over special status to Andhra Pradesh. It does need to be noted that the NDA is comfortably in power, with or without the support of the AIADMK.

"There is no alliance with, or support being extended to the BJP," Palaniswami told the Assembly as part of the Budget Session. The House had on March 15 passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), which would be a joint mechanism to manage the division of the waters of the Cauvery River involving the Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Central governments.

The accusation that the AIADMK is going soft on the BJP also goes hand-in-hand with the perception that the party has been cosying up ever since the death of its long-time supremo J Jayalalithaa in 2016.

The AIADMK's MPs have been holding protests in the Parliament complex demanding the constitution of the CMB. The Supreme Court had on February 16 ordered the Centre to set up the CMB within six weeks. It had also reduced the amount of water awarded to Tamil Nadu, and had been notified in 2013.

(With inputs from ANI)