The TVK-led Tamil Nadu government’s demand for a separate tribunal over the Mekedatu dam proposal will lead to legal complexities, AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said in the Assembly on Monday.

During a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s Address to the House, Mr. Palaniswami said this was a sensitive issue to the people of Tamil Nadu, and the Speaker should allow the former’s party colleague O.S. Manian to speak on it.

Mr. Palaniswami pointed out that both the erstwhile AIADMK and DMK regimes had organised all-party meetings on major issues, including the one on Cauvery water, and added that the TVK-led government went ahead with its decision on the subject which he said was a sensitive issue for farmers.

The Chair maintained that the Ministers for Water Resources and Public Works Departments had spoken in detail over the issue, seeking to address the concerns raised by the AIADMK earlier in the day. PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had analysed all the developments in this issue over the past 40 years to take a decision.

DMK legislator and former Minister E.V. Velu maintained that if a debate continued on the decision of the Tamil Nadu government, it would appear as if there is no unity among parties in Tamil Nadu, which would embolden Karnataka government.