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SYL canal row: Jakhar writes to Badal, questions his stance

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Jakhar also questioned if the Akalis had reached a ‘deal’ with the BJP on the SYL canal issue

SYL canal issue, Satluj Yamuna link, Congress, SAD, Badal, parkash badal, sunil jakhar, india news, latest news Sunil Jakhar. (Express Archive)

SENIOR CONGRESS leader and vice president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Sunil Jakhar Thursday alleged that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was deliberately making inflammatory statements on the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, which could lead to a potential law and order situation in the state.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Jakhar also questioned if the Akalis had reached a ‘deal’ with the BJP on the SYL canal issue and why the SAD-BJP government had not sent a delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi though a decision in this regard had been taken by the cabinet on March 1. The Congress leader has also questioned Badal’s claim in a sangat darshan in Nakodar on June 25 when he said Clause 5 of the Punjab Water Termination Act 2004 had been removed, saying this was “factually incorrect.”

Questioning Badal’s oft-repeated statements asking Punjabis to be ready to make sacrifices for the state, Jakhar has written to the CM that this was a deliberate attempt by him to push back Punjab into “dark days.” “Not only will this result in the agriculture sector of the state being ruined, it will damage the economic infrastructure of the state as well,” he said.

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Later, speaking to mediapersons, Jakhar alleged that Akali leaders and workers were using a language that is making traders and other common people in the state remember the days when these cadres would to go around the state shouting slogans with swords in their hand, riding motorbikes.

“I have written to the CM asking him to do ‘Raj Dharm.’ I wanted to give this letter by hand but I realised that it would have ended up being a game of one-upmanship. The government would have been embarrassed and they would have become more belligerent,” he said.

Festive offer

“If it satisfies the Akalis or the Badals then let me say that the day SYL is restored I will sit on fast unto death. Since the CM cannot sit with me due to his advanced age, he should at least send the Deputy CM, Sukhbir Singh Badal, to sit on fast with me,” he said.

Commenting on the current status of SYL, the Congress leader said he did not believe that the waters of Punjab were under any threat due to the adverse SC ruling and that no central government would like to let the issue flare up. He said similar disputes have been pending for long between Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka too.

First uploaded on: 15-07-2016 at 05:04 IST
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