Sukhbir cautions CM on Centre ‘trap’, Cong reminds SAD of ‘lost chance’
TOUGH CALL Options that the Centre has suggested include giving up demand for construction of SYL by Haryana and instead making the HansiButana canal functional, and 1,000 cusecs of additional water to Haryana by Punjab
CHANDIGARH: The Centre’s efforts to settle the contentious issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) — a canal to share water between Punjab and Haryana that has not been completed for years — has led to a war of words among leaders of political parties in Punjab.
A salvo was fired by former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of the Shiromai Akali Dal (SAD) “cautioning” CM Capt Amarinder Singh from falling into the “Centre’s trap”. At this, state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, shot back with the fact that the SAD is a partner in the BJP-led central government and should take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. SAD’s Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Sukhbir’s wife, is a minister in the Union cabinet.
“They (SAD) had the best chance to turn things in favour of Punjab when they were in government (in Punjab), but they preferred for it to linger on, so that the onus would fall on the party that takes charge of the government (after the state polls early this year),” said Jakhar. Castigating the SAD for sticking only to its “one line” of “no water to spare” and not doing anything beyond lip service, he suggested that Sukhbir should ask Modi to “tread with caution” on the issue.
The Centre in the hearing of a suit filed by Haryana had, on September
Punjab does not have a single drop of water to spare. CM should not fall into the trap of Centre to negotiate. If state govt agrees to part with its waters, the people will not spare the Congress. SUKHBIR SINGH BADAL, SAD president and former deputy CM They (SAD) had the best chance to turn things in favour of Punjab when in govt, but they preferred that SYL issue lingers on, so that the onus falls on the party that takes charge (after polls). SUNIL JAKHAR, Punjab Congress president
7, sought more time from the Supreme Court to work out a settlement between the two states. It had earlier come up with a proposal that instead of completing the canal, the Hansi-Butana Bhakra Main Line link canal can be operationalised under the supervision of an independent agency such as the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
The Centre even suggested that additional water (1000 cusec) be released in Haryana from savings to be effected by Punjab. Haryana has shown reluctance towards the proposal.
Reiterating his party’s stand, SAD’s Sukhbir said, “Punjab does not have a single drop of water to spare. The CM should not fall into the trap of the Centre to negotiate on the matter. In case Punjab government agrees to part with its waters, the people will not spare the Congress,” said Sukhbir.
Jakhar underlined that the Congress during its previous regime in 2004 brought the law to terminate water-sharing agreements.
That law, it must be noted, was declared unconstitutional by the SC last year, sparking the latest round in the protracted political battle over the canal.
Meanwhile, principal opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too had something to say. “People are struggling for drinking water; the state has no water to spare,” said its MP and state chief Bhagwant Mann. He suggested constituting a tribunal so to assess the water Punjab has. “Canals, rivers, and subsoil water have dried; how can water be sent outside?”