SAD denies diluting stand on Udham Singh Nagar

NEW DELHI, Aug 12: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today denied that it had softened its stand on the Udham Singh Nagar issue and said the ...

NEW DELHI, Aug 12: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today denied that it had softened its stand on the Udham Singh Nagar issue and said the BJP-led Government must “keep the district out” of the proposed Uttaranchal state if it wanted the SAD’s continued support.

Party general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra told mediapersons here this afternoon that there was “no question” of the party diluting its stand on the issue.

He said the party’s political affairs committee, at a meeting held in Chandigarh on August 6, had resolved that the Akalis would withdraw support to the BJP-led Government at the Centre if it insisted on pushing through the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in Parliament.

He refuted newspaper reports which suggested that Punjab Chief Minister and SAD president Parkash Singh Badal during his meetings with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani yesterday had chosen to sidestep the Udham Singh Nagar issue.

He also denied allegations that there weredifferences between Badal and SGPC president G S Tohra on the issue. Both leaders would “unitedly fight it (the problem) out”, he said.

Chandumajra urged the Vajpayee government to solve Punjab’s “long standing demands” which included the transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab and the handover of control of river works to the state.

Rejecting the Eradi Tribunal Award on distribution of river waters, the SAD general secretary claimed Punjab had no surplus water to offer other states.