Haryana Cong MLAs disrupt guv address
Minutes before Governor’s address, the Haryana assembly witnessed ruckus
CHANDIGARH: A couple of hours after the Punjab assembly passed a Bill for returning the land acquired for the construction of the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link ( SYL) canal to the original owners or their heirs, the Haryana assembly on Monday passed a resolution condemning the passage of the Punjab Bill.
The Congress MLAs who were earlier suspended by the speaker were not present in the House when the resolution was passed by voice vote. The resolution moved by irrigation minister Om Prakash Dhankar termed the Punjab assembly’s move to de- notify the land for the SYL as “unilateral, unconstitutional and denying the authority of the Supreme Court, a step only to draw political mileage”. The Haryana House also requested the Centre to “annul the illegal and unconstitutional action as well as pursue the matter in the ongoing Presidential reference to take it to a just conclusion and take effective steps for the early completion of the SYL canal to protect the rights of the people of Haryana”.
The resolution said Punjab had made yet another attempt to circumvent and divert the outcome of the Presidential reference under consideration of the Supreme Court and keep Haryana deprived of its legitimate share of water by passing the Punjab-Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal ( Rehabilitation and Re-vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill to de-notify the land, lawfully acquired for construction of the SYL.
“This is a patently illegal act of Punjab and is in utter contempt of the Constitution, federal structure of the country and the rule of law. This is a sinister move by the Punjab government having the dangerous potential to undermine the unity and integrity of the country,” the resolution said.
INLD ASKS BJP TO MAKE STAND CLEAR
Speaking on the resolution, INLD Legislature Party deputy leader Jaswinder Singh Sandhu said the BJP could not run away from its responsibility and must make its stand clear on the issue.
“The Centre and Haryana are ruled by the BJP and the party is in alliance with the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab,” he said. The BJP benches, however, tried to overwhelm his argument by saying that both the INLD and SAD had close political and family ties. Finance minister Capt Abhimanyu intervened to say it was not the time to enter into a blame game and all parties should pass the resolution unanimously. “Everyone knows who stands where on the issue,’’ he said. Irrigation minister OP Dhankar, too, chipped in to say that when the Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act in 2004, the INLD was in power in Haryana. “Don’t try to get political mileage from the issue,” Dhankar said.
Haryana Janhit Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi said the Punjab Bill passed by the assembly had the support of the BJP MLAs from Punjab. “In fact, the BJP leaders in Punjab have hailed the move of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. How can the people of Haryana believe the BJP?” Bishnoi asked. Taking a dig at the INLD, Bishnoi said both the INLD and SAD supported each other during elections.
An agitated finance minister Capt Abhimanyu then said, “Why does everybody indulge in a blame game and politics when this issue comes up? Punjab has passed the Bill with one voice. Don’t allow petty politics to erode our unity.”
The resolution quoted the opinion of the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal case where an ordinance was passed by a state seeking to nullify the order of the court. “Such an act is an invitation to lawlessness and anarchy, in as much as the ordinance is a manifestation of a desire on the part of the state to be a judge in its own cause and to defy the decisions of the judicial authorities.”