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SAD accuses Punjab CM of ‘mouthing blatant lies’
Akali leaders said that besides failing to tell Punjabis how he would save the waters of the state, the CM also refused to address the burning issues faced by farmers, youth and the poorer sections of society as well as the issue of drug menace and breakdown of law and order
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday accused chief minister Bhagwant Mann of mouthing blatant lies and wasting Punjab’s taxpayer’s money to conduct a one-man show.
Addressing a press conference here, senior Akali leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Virsa Singh Valtoha said the chief minister was indulging in a slander campaign against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal over the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal that lies at the heart of a knotty tangle over distribution of river waters between Punjab and Haryana for decades.
The SAD leaders said the truth was that former Haryana chief minister Devi Lal approached the Supreme Court to demand the construction of a canal to take Punjab waters to Haryana while Badal opposed this by filing a petition challenging Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganization Act in 1979.
They alleged that Mann had not only insulted Punjabis by refusing to answer questions put to him but had also hurt their sentiments by refusing to commiserate with the victims of the anti-Sikh pogrom which also occurred on this day in 1984.
Akali leaders said that besides failing to tell Punjabis how he would save the waters of the state, the CM also refused to address the burning issues faced by farmers, youth and the poorer sections of society as well as the issue of drug menace and breakdown of law and order.
They also objected to the manner in which the chief minister had written to the Rajasthan and Haryana governments asking them how much water they needed when water regulation was the responsibility of the BBMB.
“It is clear that this was done to show the Punjab is ready to give water to the neighbouring states during elections in both the states”, they said.
They said the CM should have also explained why he had kept silent on the demand of Punjab MP Sandeep Pathak that Haryana should be given water from the SYL. “Mann refused to repudiate AAP Haryana unit president Sushil Gupta’s statement that the next AAP government will provide water from the SYL to all parts of Haryana” they added.
