Left with little option following the strict Supreme Court directive on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is turning to the state’s political parties for support.Sources said the Chief Minister, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today, was likely to call an all-party meeting in Chandigarh this weekend to mobilise support for the state’s cause.However, it was not clear whether Akali Dal, the main Opposition party in the state, would attend the meeting. The Akali Dal had objected to the CM’s approaching the Prime Minister to seek his intervention in the issue. The Akalis believe that the crisis should be resolved ‘‘by sticking to the stand that Haryana has no riparian rights over the rivers of undivided Punjab’’.However, Amarinder went ahead and met the Prime Minister today and sought his intervention for a solution to the issue.After the meeting that lasted about 25 minutes, Amarinder revealed that the decks were clear for the setting up of a fresh tribunal to assess the availability of water in the state’s rivers. He also claimed that former solicitor general Soli S. Sorabjee had seen no legal hurdles in setting up a new tribunal as sought by the Punjab government in an application to the Water Resource Ministry. The Law Ministry had sought Sorabjee’s opinion on Punjab’s application.‘‘We have kept all the facts before the PM. It is now up to the Centre to do justice to Punjab,’’ Amarinder said after his meeting with the Prime Minister.Regarding the SC order directing Punjab to construct its portion of the canal, he said legal recourse was still open to Punjab and it would take all possible measures to protect the rights of the state’s farmers. ‘‘The state’s legal council is meeting today and we will take whatever legal recourse it suggests,’’ he added.‘‘Punjab is already suffering a water deficit and if it gives water to Haryana, around 9 lakh hectares of land in the state will remain dry. Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is crying hoarse. He must do his calculations again. Haryana has less land but more water than Punjab. So, what is the point in giving them more water?’’ he said.Amarinder also met Water Resources Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi to plead for setting up of a fresh tribunal.
