Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today moved a resolution on SYL Canal declared that the Punjab government won’t accept forcible construction of Satluj Yamuna Link Canal.
A view of Punjab Vidhan Sabha
The resolution which was eventually adopted, says that Punjab is primarily an agrarian state and river waters are its lifeline. However, after the partition of the country, Punjab had been subjected to continuous discrimination and injustice. According to the Riparian Principles, Punjab had absolute right over its river waters but through various agreements and decisions it had been robbed of its due share in broad daylight. Despite the owners of river waters, the farmers of Punjab had to rely heavily on tubewells, as 73% of irrigation was being done through them resulting in fast depletion of water table. Now the situation has become extremely grav and to tolerate this injustice would amount to signing a death warrant of Punjab and Punjabis. Punjab didn’t have a single drop of water to share with anyone. The house resolved not to accept any decision against injustice to river waters of Punjab. Any attempt to divest river waters of Ravi, Beas from Punjab and forcefully implementing the decision to construct SYL on Punjab in defiance to nationally and internationally accepted riparian principles would never be tolerated at any cost.
The Resolution commits all Punjabis and all political parties would safeguard the rights of Punjab in unison, rising above their personal differences.
All Congress MLAs were suspended:
Earlier, all Congress MLAs were suspended from the Punjab Assembly for a day after they trooped into the Well of the House amidst pandemonium over the official resolution moved by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal against sharing of river waters.
Prior to that, Congress MLAs staged a walkout in the Vidhan Sabha during Zero Hour over the brutal murder of Dalit youth Bhim Tank in Abohar. Tank was allegedly killed by liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda’s henchmen at his farmhouse.
They were dissatisfied with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s assurance that the culprits behind the Abohar incident in which a Dalit man died after his limbs were chopped off, would not be spared, opposition Congress staged a walkout from Punjab Assembly.