Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
CHANDIGARH, March 9: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh today reiterated his strong opposition to the construction of Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal and sharing of Punjab’s water with non-riparian states, saying he was as much opposed to the SYL at the time when it was started, as he is now.
He also took a dig at Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann for accusing Congress of playing politics on SYL. “Apparently he has no idea about the seriousness and intensity of the issue that is why he is saying like that”, he remarked, while telling him that in case the SYL is constructed Sangrur, the area he represents in the parliament, will be the worst hit.
Rubbishing Aam Aadmi Party’s disinformation campaign on the issue against him, Capt Amarinder said, he was opposed to the construction of the SYL right from day one when its foundation stone was laid down by the then Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi in 1982 and had also clarified it to her at that it would never be viable.
“I don’t need any certificate from the aliens and outsiders to prove my unfailing commitment towards Punjab as the Punjabis know my credentials too well”, he asserted, while pointing out that it was he who had terminated all the water sharing agreements to save Punjab’s waters from being given to non-riparian states.
“Instead of trying to spread lies and question my commitment towards Punjab they should better prove their own credentials towards the Punjabis”, he said, while remarking, “if anybody thinks he can question my credentials when it comes to guarding Punjab’s interests he is miserably mistaken”.
“Merely because I was present at the function does not imply that I supported its construction”, Capt Amarinder said, while pointing out that he was the Patiala MP at that time and Ms Gandhi was the Prime Minister. “Our tradition and protocol demanded that I should have been present there”, he clarified while adding, even at that time he had disagreed with Ms Gandhi on the construction of the SYL.
The PCC president disclosed that he had told Ms Gandhi there and then only that the SYL was going to be a “carrier canal” passing through areas of Rajpura, Ghanaur and parts of Patiala which badly needed water for irrigation as these areas did not have any irrigation system, without letting the people there to use its water. “I told Ms Gandhi that it was like handing over a jug of water to a thirsty person in a dessert and asking him not to drink water from it”, he said.
