Bangalore: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's statement denying that the Cauvery dispute figured in his conversation with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy when the latter telephoned to greet him on the occasion of Ugadi.

The issue cropped up in the Legislative Assembly during Zero Hour on Tuesday when the Kannada Chaluvali leader Vatal Nagaraj wanted to know the Government's stand on Mr. Karunanidhi's statement and why there had been no debate on the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal so far.

Leader of the Opposition N. Dharam Singh and the former Speaker Ramesh Kumar said that while Mr. Kumaraswamy claimed that he had broached the subject of negotiations with his Tamil Nadu counterpart, Mr. Karunanidhi denied that the two had talked about it.

They said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's statement reflected badly on Mr. Kumaraswamy and was an insult to the State. Therefore, Mr. Kumaraswamy he should clarify what had transpired. He should have taken the people into confidence before raising the matter with his Tamil Nadu counterpart and making a statement about it later.

Mr. Ramesh Kumar said Tamil Nadu had put Karnataka in an embarrassing situation, but Mr. Kumaraswamy had not responded.

At this juncture, Mr. Yediyurappa told the Opposition not to cast aspersions on the Chief Minister and added that such reactions would create suspicion in the minds of the people of Tamil Nadu about Mr. Kumaraswamy. If Mr. Karunanidhi denied having discussed the subject with Mr. Kumaraswamy, it reflected poorly on the former, Mr. Yediyurappa said.

Mr. Vatal Nagaraj staged a walk out protesting against the inordinate delay in discussing the tribunal award.

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