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New Delhi, October 23: Accusing the Badal government of failing to properly defend the rights of Punjab on the SYL issue in the Supreme Court, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh today announced that all party MLAs will resign en mass if the impending decision of the apex court is unfavourable to the state.
Captain Amarinder told reporters after a meeting of senior Punjab Congress and AICCC leaders that the party had unanimously decided to stand by its earlier decision that all MLAs will resign en block in the event of the Supreme Court’s decision going against Punjab. He himself would resign from the Lok Sabha and go to the people’s court, the Punjab Congress president said.
The meeting decided that the MLAs will submit mass resignations from the state assembly “in the interest of the people of Punjab, who will suffer serious shortage of water in the event of the SYL decision going against the state.” The MLAs will resign from the Vidhan Sabha and come out on the streets to fight for the rights of the people of the state, it was decided at the meeting.
“We will be left with no option but to take to the streets in the interest of Punjab and its people, and the responsibility of this will be on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for failing to protect the rights of the state,” said Captain Amarinder.
Pointing out that Badal had failed to even uphold the sanctity of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, which his government had passed to annul all inter-state water sharing agreements signed by Punjab, Captain Amarinder said the Akali leader had been busy playing dirty politics on the issue at the cost of the lives of the people by launching morchas.
In fact, said Captain Amarinder, the NDA, of which Badal’s Shiromani Akali Dal is a part, took an anti-Punjab stand during the hearing on the Presidential Reference pertaining to the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, laying bare the hypocrisy of the Badals in this whole affair.
Earlier, the leaders reiterated that while the Congress respected the Supreme Court, it is also duty-bound towards Punjab, and “hence we will find legislative and constitutional ways and means to safeguard our water.”
Citing experts, they pointed out that the moment the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal flows, 9.75 acres of land (3.91 lakh hectares) will go dry and barren across several districts in the Malwa region, with Bathinda, Faridkot and Ferozepur being the worst affected since the ground water in these districts is saline and carries toxins such as boron and fluorides.
People will not even have drinking water, said the Congress leaders, adding that Punjab just did not have any water to spare for other states. Pointing out that the Congress was the only party that had taken a categorical stand opposing SYL construction, the leaders decided to take the fight to the people of Punjab in the coming Assembly elections.
At the meeting, Captain Amarinder Singh lashed out at the Badal government for its failure to defend the state properly in the apex court and alleged complicity on the part of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal with the central government.
Badal had been playing into the hands of the Centre on issue after issue, including the recent unnecessary and uncalled for evacuation of people from the border areas of Punjab. The Badal government’s inability to protect the rights of the people of Punjab is also clearly manifest in the way it has been handling the SYL case in the Supreme Court, said Captain Amarinder.
Even though Badal has been publicly maintaining that Punjab does not have a single drop of water to share with anyone, it is more than clear that his concern is only superficial and he has actually been working against the state’s interest by not properly defending its stance on the SYL issue, said Captain Amarinder.
The Punjab Congress president also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of showing similar double standards, with its leader Arvind Kejriwal openly taking contradictory stands on the issue. While at a May 2016 meeting in Ropar, Kejriwal had maintained that he was against the construction of SYL, just three days later he was singing a different tune, saying there should be “no politics on water and everyone, whether Punjab, Haryana or Delhi, should get water.”
The leaders also discussed the party’s poll strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections and prepared a roadmap for the next phase of campaigning.
Those who attended the meeting, besides PPCC President and former Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, included AICC General Sec Asha Kumari, Gen Sec & Chairman Punjab Campaign Committee Ambika Soni, AICC Secretary and Punjab in-charge Harish Chaudhry, MLA and former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former PPCC president Pratap Bajwa, MPs Ch. Santokh Singh and Ravneet Bittu, Senior Vice President (PPCC) Lal Singh, Manpreet Badal and Dr Raj Chabewal.
