Cong to crack SYL puzzle, may send Pranab to Punjab

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, pointman to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for Punjab, is likely to visit Chandigarh next week as the pa...

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, pointman to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for Punjab, is likely to visit Chandigarh next week as the party high command gears up to resolve the SYL crisis.

Asked about the visit, Mukherjee told reporters at AICC headquarters this evening: ‘‘Likely.’’ He had come to chair a meeting of a committee constituted to prepare drafts for resolutions for the AICC session, slated for August 21.

Earlier, Mukherjee, responding to queries after a visit to the Coast Guard headquarters said: ‘‘Nobody has tendered any resignation, nor have we asked for it.’’

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As for the statements of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, he said: ‘‘In a federal set-up, the fact remains that when you belong to an all-India party, and on an issue which affects the interests of more than one state, our actions and observations should be in conformity with the stand of an all-India party.’’

The Defence Minister refused to comment on the Punjab Bill, terminating all water-sharing agreements, saying the state legislature was competent to pass any legislation, but as regards its merit, it was for the Supreme Court to decide.

Party spokesman Anand Sharma refused to comment on reports that Amarinder had not attended his office today. He also refused to qualify the criticism of the CM by general secretary Janardan Dwivedi. ‘‘I will not add anything to what he has said,’’ he said.

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