AAP won’t let Punjab river waters flow to Haryana

NEW DELHI (INDIA): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today said it will not let the Punjab river waters flow to Haryana and accused the Akali Dal and INLD of trying to exploit the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal issue only for political mileage.nnAAP MP Bhagwant Mann said AAP would not allow any water to flow to Haryana because Punjab has no extra water.nnHe said his party is firm on the issue and will take all possible legal and political steps to resolve the river water dispute between Punjab and other neighbouring states.nnAccusing Punjab’s SAD and Haryana’s INLD of seeking to exploit the sensitive issue, Mann asked the people of the two states to be beware of the “dangerous designs” of the two parties, which, he said, were only creating law and order problem by “blowing” the SYL issue “out of proportion.” Questioning INLD as to why it kept quite on SYL canal issue for ten years when its ally SAD ruled Punjab, Mann said INLD suddenly decided to dig the canal after realising that SAD was going to lose power.nnAsking SAD and INLD to “stop gimmickry and not to create situation for bloodshed,” Mann said SAD is behaving like a defeated army which is laying land mines before retracting from the battle field.nnHe asked Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh not to create hurdles in development and progress of Punjab and accept the verdict of its people with grace.nnAccusing SAD and Congress of being primarily responsible for “selling” Punjab river waters to Haryana, the AAP MP recalled that it was Parkash Singh Badal, the Punjab’s chief minister in 1978, who had allowed his Haryana counterpart Devi Lal to conduct survey for the SYL Canal.nn”Devi Lal had announced in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha that what his predecessors Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal could not do, he (Devi Lal) has done with the help of his dear friend Parkash Singh Badal,” Mann said while referring to Vidhan Sabha records.nnAAP MP said Devi Lal had given 18 acres of prime land to Badal family in Gurugram for Orbit resorts in lieu of “selling” Punjab s interest to Haryana.nnHe said when Badal family ruled Punjab for the last ten years, INLD never petitioned Supreme Court for Punjab s right over river waters and put up a weak case in defence to Haryana government s petition against Punjab. (MORE)nnSource: Press Trust of India