Cong to stir political pot on Punjab waters, within House and outside

Tuesday, 08/03/2016

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CHANDIGARH: The politics over river waters is set to boil over with the opposition Congress launching an offensive both inside and outside the state assembly during the budget session starting Tuesday.

With the NDA government at the Centre opposing the Punjab Termination of Waters Act passed in 2004 by then chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh in the Supreme Court, the party would be highlighting how Punjab’s interests are being “compromised by Akalis under pressure” from a dominant ally, BJP, both at the Centre and vis-à-vis neighbouring Haryana in the budget session. 

Punjabis coming under attack during the recent Jat quota stir has also given the Congress ammunition to take the Haryana route to target the ruling Akalis and its ally BJP. 

In his debut session as Punjab leader of opposition, Charanjit Channi said his strategy would be to bring in an adjournment motion on March 10 on Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Not to miss on the symbolism, the party MLAs will wear black badges and walk on foot to the assembly tomorrow as a mark of protest. Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh has already announced to undertake a march along the SYL route to “protect Punjab waters”, an issue that tops his list of achievements as the CM. 

“Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal should immediately resign and seek fresh mandate from the people of Punjab on the SYL issue. Badal is just shedding crocodile tears in the media on the issue, what did he do when the land acquisition notices were issued on February 20, 1978, when he was the CM? Punjab doesn’t have surplus water to give it to anybody, this is the future of Punjab and without this asset, our land will turn unfertile,” Channi told the media here. 

The party will also corner the government on targeting of Punjabis during the agitation by Jats in Haryana for reservation in government jobs. “On the pattern of Gujarat, where minorities were targeted, the BJP government in Haryana engineered the protests to widen the caste divide. We want answers from the BJP why Punjabis were targeted and from the CM on his silence,” Channi told HT. 

The party’s “Punjab versus Haryana” strategy is also aimed at cornering AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who has not reacted to Amarinder’s posers on SYL issue nor on attacks on Punjabis in Haryana.