Bangalore, April 5:With Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi announcing a decision to put on hold the contentious Hogenakkal drinking water project, pro-Karnataka activist groups functioning under the banner of the Kannada Border Protection Committee have decided to call off a Karnataka bandh scheduled for April 10.

In a statement following the announcement of Karunanidhi’s decision on Saturday morning, the pro-Kannada groups announced they were deferring the bandh called to protest the setting-up of the project on territory disputed by the two states.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress Election Co-ordination Committee chairman S M Krishna, who took the issue to the UPA Government for resolution, hailed the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s decision and said a solution can be obtained when an elected government is in place in Karnataka.

Krishna said he spoke to Karunanidhi and requested him to put the Hogenakkal project on hold. “In response to this, Karunanidhi has taken this decision. This is an example of his statesmanship,” Krishna who had earlier criticised Karunanidhi for his strong remarks on the issue said.

With the Hogenakkal issue losing steam, activists and political parties in Karnataka turned the heat on Tamil film star Rajnikant, especially for his remarks on political interference in the Hogenakkal drinking water project by politicians in Karnataka.

The pro-Kannada groups have called for a boycott of Tamil movies starring Rajnikant. “We will not allow the screening of Rajnikant’s movies in Karnataka and will also not allow him to enter the state,” Vatal Nagaraj, three-time MLA and leading activist in the Karnataka Border Protection Committee, said of the Tamil film star.

Rajnikant, a Maharastrian, has roots in Karnataka and was a key player in securing the release of the late Kannada icon Dr Rajkumar — following his kidnapping by forest brigand Veerappan in the year 2000.

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