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SYL row: Mann attending meetings to fulfil Kejriwal’s agenda of Punjab’s water for Haryana, Delhi: Sukhbir Badal
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday said chief minister Bhagwant Mann was attending regular meetings on Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal with his Haryana counterpart as well as the Centre to fulfil Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal’s agenda to get Punjab’s river waters released to Haryana and Delhi.
The Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday said chief minister Bhagwant Mann was attending regular meetings on Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal with his Haryana counterpart as well as the Centre to fulfil Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal’s agenda to get Punjab’s river waters released to Haryana and Delhi.
Talking to media persons after paying obeisance at Golden Temple, the SAD president said, “What is the need to attend these meetings if you are firm that you won’t release any water from Punjab rivers to other states. “The very fact that you have gone to the negotiating table indicates you are bent upon selling out the interests of Punjab,” Badal said while referring to Mann.
Asserting that Punjab had an inalienable right to its river waters, as per the riparian principal, Badal said “It is this fact that the chief minister should relate to Haryana as well as the Centre”. He said as the SAD president he had always maintained that the party would not allow any water to be released from its rivers to other states in keeping with riparian principle.
He said BJP national president JP Nadda, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal should also make their stand clear on this issue. When queried, he said statements by the Punjab unit in charges of various parties, including the recent statement of BJP Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma, did not carry any weight. “It is the national presidents who should give a clear-cut statement on the SYL issue as well as their party’s stand on it”, he added.
