BJP WILL NOT LET EVEN A DROP OF WATER GO OUT OF PUNJAB, PARTY READY TO MAKE ANY SACRIFICE: JAKHAR

Chandigarh, 19 October 2023 (Kulbir Kalsi):– Taking on the state government for trying to appropriate the right of Punjab over its waters for petty political gains in Haryana, the Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Thursday declared that BJP will never allow even a drop of water to go out of Punjab and the party will make any sacrifice required to preserve rights and interests of every Punjabi.

Daring the Chief Minister to answer to the people of Punjab for deliberately hatching a conspiracy to dilute Punjab’s entrenched stand in and outside the Supreme Court, Jakhar stated that no one be it a Chief Minister or an Member of Parliament has no moral right to continue after betraying  state’s interests and rights over its natural resources.

This is a vicious conspiracy against the very future of Punjab which has sacrificed so much for the nation, Jakhar said while reacting to AAP MP Sandeep Pathak’s outrageous statement to preserve Haryana’s waters at the cost of Punjab.

Coming down heavily on AAP MP Sandeep Pathak, Jakhar said, “What could be more devastating to a true Punjabi to witness the state’s own Member of Parliament diluting and bartering Punjab’s interests in this manner for political gains in other states.

The veteran Punjab leader said this here at party headquarters during a press conference while reading out the strong -worded BJP’s Core Committee resolution seeking Chief Minister’s resignation and a vow to protect relentlessly oppose and make any sacrifice to stop construction of SYL.

The resolution also urges the Union Government to facilitate resolution of the pending river water matters as per Constitutional Provisions and riparian laws.

No attempt to jeopardise state’s future for AAP’s petty ploy to garner political mileage will be tolerated, Jakhar underlined as he mooted an idea to hold a Conference of all well meaning Punjabis before the November 1 PAU debate which he termed as a farce enacted by the Chief Minister. The consensus of all Punjabis over water issue will only give a meaningful direction to the PAU debate.

I have accepted CM’s challenge and I will not let him run away from the debate now. I will expose the true face of this government’s atrocious stand on Punjab’s water during the debate, Jakhar added.

Adding another pertinent dimension to the debate over Punjab waters, Jakhar said Punjab must also get its due share in all rivers including Yamuna and Ghhagar also. Punjab’s right over Yamuna water must be restored, Jakhar said pointing that question rather should be to ensure Punjab gets its due water and not that Punjab’s water should be given to other states or not.

The veteran leader, earlier in the day has also tweeted to put things in perspective. Punjab is getting only 12.24 MAF water and Haryana despite SYL is already getting 13.30 MAF water, Jakhar had pointed out citing figures of the Department of Water Resources.

Underlining that Punjab has no surplus water, the Core Committee resolved to “relentlessly oppose relentlessly oppose and make every sacrifice to prevent construction of SYL or any other water carrier channel for carrying Punjab’s waters to Non-basin and non-riparian states.