Chandigarh 7 Sep : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday declared a scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal, who claimed that the water source from the SYL Canal should be transferred to Haryana in addition to the endorsement of the “anti-Punjab” announcement by the state’s Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.Shocked at the way in the manner in which Kejriwal was prepared to “sell out the interests” of Punjab for electoral gains in Haryana and “the complete surrender of Punjab’s interests” by Mann solely to keep his seat, he stated: “This sale of the interests of the state by a party that was granted an overwhelming majority of 92 seats is unprecedented in the history of Punjab.”
In a statement, claiming that Mann has taken the esteem of the Punjab Chief Minister’s position to the lowest level, Badal said the manner in the way he was announcing the remarks of Kejriwal was unprofessional.”Punjabis cannot imagine their Chief Minister, who is elected by them, signing off their river waters , but Bhagwant Mann is preparing to do this in order to stay in the office.”
A warning to Mann not to participate in any meetings on the SYL with the Haryana government The SAD President stated that “negotiations are made whenever you are able to offer something”.
He also claimed the possibility of discussions with the state of riparian and Haryana was not a riparian state, and therefore did not have the right to claim the right to share in the river’s water of Punjab.
He also explained the way Mann was weakening the Punjab’s position on a different issue involving the feelings of the Punjabis.”Earlier Mann has been instrumental in weakening the case of Punjab in Haryana by not protesting Haryana’s demand to have land allocated for it to build the construction of a new Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh.”
Refusing to accept Mann’s “cowardly actions” and the way in the way he was able to “backstabbed” Punjabis, Badal declared: “The SAD has steadfastly safeguarded the river’s waters of Punjab and will continue to do the same.We stand firm in our conviction that the state doesn’t have a drop of water left.We will not allow a single drop of water flow away of the state into Haryana.”
He also revealed the way in which former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had enacted the Punjab SYL canal (Rehabilitation and Re-vesting of Property Rights) Bill 2016 to transfer land that was that was acquired to construct the canal to the owners of the land at no cost of cost.
In response to media inquiries, Badal said this was not the first time Kejriwal had declared his intentions clear on the SYL issue.
“Earlier the Delhi CM has issued a statement stating that Haryana and Delhi had the same rights in the matter of SYL water.”
He claimed that the AAP government in Delhi had also joined with Haryana in filing similar Affidavits in the Supreme Court in 2016.
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