Punjab has no surplus water to share, says state Congress chief

Chandigarh, Oct 04 (IANS) Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Wednesday reacted sharply to the Supreme Court's order of conducting a survey of the land in Punjab meant for construction of the SYL canal, saying “Punjab has no surplus water to share and there is no question of conducting a survey”.

In a statement here, the PPCC President said, “While we respect and honour the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, we vehemently oppose today's order directing the Centre government to conduct a survey of the land meant for construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Punjab.

“Once the land of five rivers, Punjab's water has drastically been drained and our underground water is also on the verge of depletion, so there is no question of sharing our water with any state.”

Accusing the AAP government of weakening Punjab's case, Warring said, “The Aam Aadmi Party has had a vested interest in this case from the start. Its Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta had given a statement that our government has been formed in Punjab, and now we will form the SYL and deliver water to every farm in Haryana.

“Not only that their supremo Arvind Kejriwal had made the same statements during campaigning in Haryana.”

He further said, “It's been very clear from the start that the Aam Aadmi Party is planning to gain a foothold in northern India through this issue and that's why the Punjab government is befooling the people by presenting a weak case in the Supreme Court.”

The Gidderbaha MLA warned, “This is not an issue of mere construction of a canal, a lot of emotions of the Punjabis are connected with this issue, due to which there was a dispute in Punjab earlier also and the situation worsened.

“Punjab has faced a dark period due to the SYL issue and I warn the Aam Aadmi Party and all the other players involved to not play with emotions of Punjab, as escalation of this issue may take Punjab back to the black days of the past.”

Commenting on the order of survey, Warring said the Haryana government has conducted the survey and completed its side of construction because “they need the water, but we have no water to spare so no question of conducting a survey in Punjab should arise”.