Chennai, Nov. 14 -- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai on Saturday slammed Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over his declaration that "no one can stop" the construction of the Mekedatu dam, calling it sheer "audacity" and accusing the political dispensation in Karnataka of exploiting the river dispute for domestic electoral gains.

Speaking to ANI, Annadurai said, "The Cauvery issue has flared up only because of the dirty politics that is playing out in Karnataka. They are not able to satisfy the voters, so they use this issue as an emotional bogey to canvass for votes. That is why this has flared up unnecessarily."

Asserting that no upper riparian project can proceed without the explicit consent of Ta...