Chautala leaves it to New Delhi

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala said this seems the only way to ensure proper maintenance and fair distribution and measurement of water. Earlier in the day, he had threatened to take to the streets in case the Centre fails to get the Punjab Termination of Ravi Beas Agreements Act, 2004, nullified.

‘‘We strongly urge the Union of India to take immediate and appropriate executive, legislative and constitutional measures to discharge the constitutional obligation of implementing the decree and judgments of the Supreme Court delivered on January 15, 2002, and June 4, 2004, and…complete the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal at the earliest,’’ the resolution said. ‘‘It (the Punjab Act) is a black law marking the nadir of legislative impropriety…It is a shameful move in utter contempt of the Supreme Court…having dangerous portents, undermines the unity and integrity of this country.’’

The resolution reiterated Haryana’s legal and statutory right over the waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers and said ‘‘Punjab’s action is nothing but yet another attempt to evade its legal and constitutional obligation through motivated abuse of the legislative process’’.

Calling upon the Centre to ensure compliance with the 1981 Agreement between the Governments of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the Cabinet said: ‘‘The inordinate and inexcusable delay in completion of Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal is a calculated move on the part of Punjab to deny the rightful flow of the share of waters to millions of farmers of Haryana who have already suffered a financial loss of thousands of crores of rupees of agriculture production.’’

At Shahabad, the attack turned personal as Chautala said the Punjab CM seems to have no belief in the democratic set-up due to the royal blood flowing in his veins. ‘‘We could have paid him in the same coin but we do not believe in disintegrating the nation,’’ Chautala said. ‘‘Unfortunately, the Congress leaders are opposing the canal founded by their own leader, ex-PM Indira Gandhi.”