Bajwa calls for all-party meet
CHANDIGARH : Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to convene an all-party meeting and lay out the steps its plans to take to protect the waters of Punjab.
Bajwa said that if they (AAP govt) do not take the opposition parties into confidence and outline a proper systematic vision, then it would be clear that the AAP is in support of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and waters of Punjab would be diverted. “We have been asking (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal to state his position on the SYL canal and whether he stands with Haryana, Punjab or Delhi on this issue, but he did not clarify his stand,” he said at a press conference here. CLP deputy leader Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal was also present.
The two Congress leaders made the demand for the allparty meet a day after AAP MP Sushil Gupta, who is also the party’s Haryana affairs in-charge, kicked up a political storm by stating that waters from the SYL canal will reach Haryana’s fields if his party comes to power in the state.
Bajwa also questioned the silence of AAP’s five newly elected Rajya Sabha members from Punjab on the issue.
“Why none of them, especially Raghav Chadha, has given any statement whether they agree or disagree with Gupta’s remarks?” he asked, alleging that all key decisions pertaining to Punjab were being taken in Delhi. The Congress leader said the state has no water to spare and not a single drop will be allowed to flow to another state.
Bajwa also warned of a power crisis in the state, asking the Mann government to bring out a white paper on power availability situation, promise to supply uninterrupted power, arrangements being made to meet power demand and power purchase agreements. HTC