हिंदी
Chandigarh, November 2 –
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded chief minister Bhagwant Mann show the letters former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal allegedly wrote to the centre asking it to go ahead with the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal when he was in jail while protesting against the Emergency or apologize forthwith.
Addressing a press conference here, SAD legal wing president Arshdeep Singh Kler said “it is clear that the chief minister uttered a blatant lie in his official capacity during the so-called debate on SYL and other issues in Ludhiana. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government should substantiate this allegation or apologize for trying to tarnish the image of the former chief minister”.
Mr Arshdeep Kler said this was not the only lie the chief minister uttered yesterday. “Mr Bhagwant Mann claimed that Mr Badal had in a quid pro quo with Haryana increased the height of the Bhakra Main Line (BML) in return for creation of a minor canal to take water to his land in Balasar village in Haryana”. The SAD leader said this was furthest from the truth. “The Bani canal which takes water to Balasar and ahead to other areas is part of the BML irrigation system and came up in 1955 while the height of the BML was raised to accommodate for silting in 1998”.
Mr Kler also condemned the chief minister for admitting that he had written letters to his Rajasthan and Haryana counterparts asking them if they needed more water from Punjab. He said the mandate for water regulation was with the BBMB and not the Punjab government. “It is clear that these letters were written with the motive of showcasing them in the forthcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan and Haryana in line with AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal’s guarantee to release more Punjab waters to the two States.
The SAD legal wing president also castigated the chief minister for twisting facts and claiming credit for closing several routes of bus companies owned by the Badal family. He said the truth was that this decision had been taken by the Supreme Court and that Punjab government bus routes had also been closed.
Deriding AAP Spokesman Malwinder Kang for demanding one document to prove that the AAP government had betrayed Punjab on the SYL issue, Mr Kler released four documents on the occasion. This included the recent submission by the AAP government that it wanted to make the SYL canal but for protests from the opposition as well as the return of the SYL land to farmers by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. He also showed a document in which the AAP government had asserted in the Supreme Court that Haryana should get water and that it did not have any objection to this. He also showed papers proving the Punjab Advocate General office did not defend Punjab’s case in the SYL on October 4 besides showing how the Punjab government was preparing for the SYL survey by taking administrative actions.
Mr Kler also played audio recordings of AAP Punjab MP Sandeep Pathak in which the latter batted for ensuring supply of SYL waters to Haryana, Kejriwal’s statement that he stood for Haryana’s right to SYL waters and AAP Haryana President Sushil Aggarwal’s statement that the party would ensure SYL waters reached each every corner of Haryana in case the party was voted to power in the State in 2024.
