"Since the Delhi meeting is the follow-up of the case on Cauvery pending in the Supreme Court and an attempt to finalise and gazette the draft scheme prepared by the Centre, Karunanidhi could participate in the meeting," the resolution said. Vajpayee has convened a meeting with chief ministers of riparian states to find a solution regarding implementation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's interim award.

The all-party meeting also empowered Karunanidhi to take "proper and necessary" steps for finalising and gazetting the draft scheme prepared by the Centre, under Section 6A of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, for implementing theTribunal's June 25, 1991, interim award, asking Karnataka to release 205 tmc ft of water to Tamil Nadu annually.

During the five-hour-long meeting, which was attended by representatives of 41 political parties, social organisations and farmers' associations, a majority of the delegates urged the Karunanidhi to participate in the meeting. However, the representatives of the AIADMK and some of its allies suggested that the chief minister need not participate in the Delhi meeting and called for immediate notification of the draft scheme prepared by the Centre. But at the time of passing the resolutions, the representatives of all the 41 parties/organisations supported him.

Among others the meeting was attended by Education Minister K Anbazhagan, Local Administration Minister Ko Si Mani, Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S Arumugam, Law Minister Aladi Aruna, PWD Minister Durai Murugan, TMC president G K Moopanar, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly S Balakrishnan and TMC MP S Peter Alphonse.

Earlier, inhis introductory remarks, Karunanidhi broadly recalled the tussle between the governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on sharing of Cauvery water and the stand taken by the State government on the issue till date. He wanted the participants to express their views on whether he should participate in the August 6 meeting.