Opposition warns CM Bhagwant Mann against compromise on SYL issue
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will meet to discuss the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue on October 14
Opposition in Punjab sought a clear and unambiguous guarantee from chief minister Bhagwant Mann that there will be no concession or compromise made with Haryana on the issue of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal during his meeting with Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring in a statement on Thursday said, “It is literally a matter of life and death for all of us, and the margin of error is zero. What the CM commits and does tomorrow will have a long-term bearing on the interests of Punjab, its economy and agriculture.”
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also asked the CM to tell Punjabis what stand he would take on the SYL canal.
In a statement here, former minister Daljit Singh Cheema apprehended that Mann would betray Punjab’s interests at the instance of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal.
“The very fact that the chief minister had not explained his stand to Punjabis nor held an all-party meeting to firm up one stand on this issue indicated that he was under pressure from Kejriwal to arrive at a compromise with the Haryana government to help AAP gain politically,” Cheema said.
Asserting that Punjabis would not tolerate any such compromise, Cheema asked the CM to clearly state that Punjab did not have a single drop of water to spare nor any land to construct the SYL canal before attending the meeting.
PPCC chief Warring suggested that Mann must raise the issue of the water of Yamuna, which Haryana is getting. “Haryana is claiming right over the Punjab rivers which do not even touch its soil, which is against the natural riparian laws”, he said adding, “if Haryana seeks water from our rivers, we should also ask for water from Yamuna, which was left out at the time of sharing of resources between Punjab and Haryana”.
The PPCC chief said he had urged the chief minister to call an all-party meeting along with other stakeholders like farmers before he met with the Haryana CM, which he did not call for the reasons best known to him.
