Khaira said that Amarinder had stepped back from his earlier stand that Punjab has no spare water to give to Haryana.PUNJAB EKTA Party (PEP) president and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Sunday claimed that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had “failed to defend” the interests of the state during the 29th Northern Zonal Council meeting held in Chandigarh this month.
He said that the “body language” of the CM indicated he “was working under pressure from BJP on the issue of giving Punjab’s river water to Haryana”. He further said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had presided over the meeting, had said that Punjab would act as an elder brother in the matter of river water disputes with Haryana, adding that the CM had endorsed the Shah’s views by stating that an amicable solution will be found on the issue.
Khaira said that Amarinder had stepped back from his earlier stand that Punjab has no spare water to give to Haryana.
The PEP chief said that with the Capt and his son Raninder Singh are facing income tax and FERA violation cases besides the Ludhiana city centre scam case, the Centre might be “arm-twisting” the Chief Minister to toe their line.
He urged Amarinder to make his stand clear on the SYL issue, adding that his “dubious and soft stand” during the recently held NZC meeting has created doubt in the minds of the people of Punjab.
He asked why the Centre did not play the role of an elder brother when it “unconstitutionally” robbed Punjab of its river waters at the time of reorganisation of the state in 1966. He urged Amit Shah to “first show magnanimity like a big brother” and “restore the erroneously allotted river waters of Punjab to Rajasthan and Haryana before pressurising Capt. Amarinder Singh to construct the SYL canal”.
