Cauvery issue: Udhayanidhi leads DMK demonstration in Thanjavur; calls CM Vijay ‘incompetent’

On Monday, August 3, 2026, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party sent a strong message to the Indian Parliament by staging a protest against the state of Tamil Nadu being deprived of its rightful share of Cauvery river water. The protest was not limited to speeches within the Parliament; instead, it extended to the streets outside.

The primary issue at hand was the alleged disregard for the directives issued by the Cauvery Water Management Authority, which stipulated that Tamil Nadu should receive 9.9 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic feet) of water in June and 32 TMC in July, amounting to a total of 42 TMC for the entire year. However, Tamil Nadu has reportedly received no water from the Cauvery river since the beginning of 2026.

Responding to this injustice, DMK MPs walked out of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, refusing to sit through the proceedings. Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson, during his address, emphasized that Tamil Nadu deserved to receive the original demand of 7,000 cusecs, taking into account the existing backlog. "We want the House to debate and pass a resolution on this," he asserted.

Adding to the controversy, Wilson also criticized the Congress party for its indifference towards Tamil Nadu's problems. He argued that the Congress was preoccupied with other matters and thus ignored this critical issue, calling for the Union government to intervene and resolve the matter. The DMK party's protest, both within and outside the Parliament, brought the Cauvery water crisis to the forefront of national attention.