NO THIRD PARTY INTERVENTION ON FARAKKA — DR. RAO

NEW DELHI, July 26. PAKISTAN has “lost its case” on the eastern rivers issue by making exaggerated claims on Ganga water, Irrigation and Poeer Minister Dr. K.L. Rao declared in the Lok Sabha today.

Intervening in a half-hour discussion on the subject, Dr. Rao reiterated that India was committed to bilateral discussions to settle the Farakka barrage issue and would never allow a third party intervention. Dr. Rao said that Pakistan’s claims on Ganga waters were unnecessarily exaggerated. “At the first meeting between the experts of the two countries, Pakistan wanted 3,000 cusecs of water and later they raised their calm to 49,000 cusecs. I do not think Pakistan is really serious about its suggestion, because so much of water will do them more harm than good,” he said.

He said that by their “absurd exaggeration,” the Pakistanis had lost their case. The Ganga was an Indian river and there was no question of any discussion on this subject.

He told Mr. N.P.C. Naidu (Cong.) and several other members who raised the discussion that India had “complete mastery over the Ganga river and we should not be afraid of Pakistan.”

Dr. Rao said Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosying’s letter to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had only said that India and Pakistan should show goodwill for a “mutually acceptable solution as they did in the past in the case of the Indus water system.”

The letter did not suggest third party or World Bank intervention.