Citing its sub-judice status, Punjab CM Mann refuses to talk SYL, gets Opp brickbats

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Thursday refused to speak on Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, while announcing that the Aam Aadmi Party would contest all 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, inviting sharp reactions from the opposition parties in Punjab, which accused him of taking an “anti-Punjab stance”.

Replying to a specific query from the media on the SYL canal — an issue that has remained a bone of contention between Haryana and Punjab for four decades — Mann said, “The matter is sub-judice. I have spoken to you in detail about the matter several times in the past. The matter is in the Supreme Court and I will not be able to comment on the issue”.

Mann, in the past, has said several times in the past that Punjab has not even one drop of extra water to share with any other state. Punjab and Haryana have been slugging it out over the river water sharing on political forums and in the Supreme Court.

While Haryana has been staking claim to water through SYL, successive Punjab governments, including the incumbent AAP regime, have taken a strong stand against sharing the waters citing riparian principle and the fact that Punjab was fast turning into a dessert.

However, Mann’s remarks on the issue Thursday evoked strong reactions back home. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal termed CM a “kathputli” (puppet) and said “puppets speak only what the masters dictate”.
“Instead of standing with Punjab…(Mann) changed his stance, which proves that AAP is ready to get Punjab robbed of our waters to get votes in Haryana.

Their leaders have already given guarantees to give Punjab’s water to other states. The AAP government of Punjab weakened the case of our waters in the Supreme Court so that our waters could get them votes,” said Badal in a post on X.

Badal said Mann has proven yet again that “he is ready to sell out Punjab’s river waters to please his ‘master’ Arvind Kejriwal”. Mann, Badal said, “has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the sole chief minister of the state to take an anti-Punjab stance on the SYL canal by dubbing the issue as ‘sub judice’ on Haryana soil today. This smacks of cowardice and is tantamount to dealing a death blow to Punjab’s farmers and its agricultural economy simply for vote bank politics”.

The Akali leader said his party will not allow “AAP’s nefarious conspiracy to give away Punjab’s river waters to Haryana” to succeed at any cost. “We will shed our blood but will not let a single drop of our water to go to any neighbouring State.”

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said Mann should have said that the water flowing “into our state is our” right. “Who was asking him to interfere in the proceedings of the court? But we should have given our side of story. We have a suspicion on the government already that they are not dedicated to Punjab’s rights and they get pressured by the Centre. We are already concerned that they may sell Punjab’s right over its waters,” said Warring.

It was in December 2023 that Mann had spoken strongly against SYL when Centre had mediated during a meeting between Haryana and Punjab. “The case is in the Supreme Court. We have given our side. I will say once again that how can we give something that we do not have? Our aquifers have dried up. So have our canals. We only have Punj-Aab in the name. Otherwise we do not have water.

Haryana is our younger brother. We want the neighbouring state to get water but it should get it from Yamuna and Ganga. If Yamuna can go to Sharda then why cannot it go to Karnal? Why cannot it go to Rohtak? They are encouraging their farmers to grow paddy on more area. But to us they are saying stop growing paddy and give them water. How will this be done?”.