SAD-B urged to pressurise Centre on Punjab’s long-pending demands

CHANDIGARH, Aug 12: Senior Punjab Congress leader and former Minister Brahm Mohindra today called upon the ruling Akali Dal to put pressure on the BJP-led government at the Centre for the acceptance of the genuine long-pending demands concerning the state.

In a statement here, he said the Punjab government should take all the political parties into confidence to forcefully raise the voice in favour of the issues concerning the state. He felt the threat to withdraw support to the BJP at the Centre would have been more meaningful in case this course of action had been adopted on these demands including transfer of Chandigarh and other speaking areas and adjudication of river waters dispute.

Mohindra charged the Akali Dal with backtracking on these issues after coming into power in alliance with the BJP in the state.

He referred to the stand taken by the AIADMK on Cauvery waters which directly concerned Tamil Nadu and said the Akalis had sidetracked the main issues by raising the demand for the exclusion of Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed Uttaranchal for their vested interests. He described it as betrayal with the people of Punjab.