Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday issued a stern warning to chief minister Bhagwant Mann against reducing the contentious issue of sharing Punjab river waters with Haryana to a negotiable one.
In a statement here, Sukhbir said it was shocking that the chief minister had not made the Punjab government’s stand clear before deciding to meet with his Haryana counterpart. 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. The discussion between the two chief ministers has been scheduled after the Supreme Court had recently nudged them to meet and try to find an amicable solution.
“Punjab has an exclusive right over its river waters, and Haryana being a non-riparian state, had no locus standi. There is nothing to discuss here with Haryana,” said Sukhbir, asserting that no country could act against the internationally accepted principle of riparian rights.
He also said the issue of the SYL canal had been closed in 2016 when the then CM Parkash Singh Badal government de-notified the land which had been taken for the establishment of the canal and handed it back to its original owners. “Parts of the canal had even been ploughed and the canal does not exist in its old state in Punjab,” he pointed out.
{{/usCountry}}He also said the issue of the SYL canal had been closed in 2016 when the then CM Parkash Singh Badal government de-notified the land which had been taken for the establishment of the canal and handed it back to its original owners. “Parts of the canal had even been ploughed and the canal does not exist in its old state in Punjab,” he pointed out.
{{/usCountry}}Asking the chief minister to clear the air, Sukhbir said there were deep misgivings in the minds of Punjabis that the AAP government was in the process of handing over their river waters to Haryana and Delhi.
He said during a recent visit to Haryana, CM Mann endorsed this proposal which was made by AAP convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in his presence.
“Earlier also, the AAP government in Delhi had submitted identical affidavits along with Haryana to the apex court and made its anti-Punjab position clear. But despite all this, the chief minister has neither clarified the state’s stand nor categorically told Punjabis that he would not let a drop of water pass to Haryana from Punjab”.