Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
CHANDIGARH, March 1: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today said that the BJP led government at the centre had committed worst betrayal with Punjab by opposing its stand on water sharing and supporting Haryana.
He questioned Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s silence on the matter that has eventually led to a situation where Punjab’s interests have been badly compromised.
Capt Amarinder did not rule out Mr Badal’s complicity in the matter as his party is one of the constituents of the NDA government at the centre and his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a cabinet minister in it. “Since Akali Dal is part of the government, it shares equal onus and responsibility for betraying and compromising Punjab’s interests in the Supreme Court”, he observed.
“This is the worst betrayal by the centre that can have dangerous repercussions and ramifications beyond anybody’s imagination”, he warned while reacting to the central government’s contention in the Supreme Court thereby opposing Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004 that protects Punjab waters from being shared with other states.
Hoping that the Supreme Court will see the reason and appreciate Punjab’s point of view, Capt Amarinder remarked, “much water has flown down the Satluj since the idea of SYL was conceived and today there is virtually no water left neither in Punjab’s rivers nor underground even for its own needs, leave aside for others”.
Besides, he added, even according to the natural and internationally accepted riparian laws, Haryana did not have any right over the rivers flowing in Punjab.
Asserting that the Chief Minister appeared to have a vested interest in getting the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004 annulled as he can sacrifice state’s interests for petty personal gains like permanently securing his daughter-in-law’s ministerial berth in the union cabinet, Capt Amarinder said, Mr Badal has not done it for the first time as he had committed such betrayal earlier also.
He pointed out, in 1978 when he was the Chief Minister of Punjab, Badal accepted Rs 2 crores from his Haryana counterpart Devi Lal for construction of the SYL and Punjab was still paying the price. “Badal accepted the money as he put personal friendship with Devi Lal above those of Punjab which he seems to have done once again”, he remarked.
