Bengaluru, June 2 -- The debate over Karnataka's major irrigation projects - Almatti and Mekedatu - has erupted into a political tug-of-war, with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and BJP leader and LoP R Ashoka daring each other to take delegations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. Shivakumar, defending Karnataka's legal right to raise the Almatti Dam's Full Reservoir Level (FRL) to 524.256 metres, came out swinging against Maharashtra's sudden objections, calling it "a politically motivated move by a BJP-ruled state to derail a settled issue". He accused the BJP of interfering through backchannels despite the tribunal's award and previous consent from Maharashtra. "Central officials have privately ...