Chandigarh, June 12
Sinking their political differences and exhibiting a unity of sorts, various political parties of Punjab here today resolved not to allow any injustice to be done with the state on the river waters and the SYL canal issue.
Leaders of various parties, who met here at an all party meeting convened by the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, urged the state government to take "all possible administrative and legal measures to safeguard the state's interest and protect it from the damage likely to be caused as a result of recent order of the Supreme Court".
Except for an unpleasant incident of an altercation between
Mr Simranjit Singh Mann and Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, the proceedings of the meeting were held in a friendly atmosphere. Of course, many leaders tried their best to score brownie points over their political rivals by digging into the past to state which party committed which blunder on the issue, but at the end a resolution was unanimously passed stating "Punjab, a riparian/basin state, is being unjustly deprived of its right to use the Ravi-Beas waters by transferring it to the Yamuna basin areas of Haryana, a non-riparian/basin state".
Mr Mann said the proposal mooted by the previous BJP-led government at the Centre to inter-link various rivers should also be rejected by including it in the resolution. However, Capt Amarinder Singh said as no decision had been taken in black and white in that connection yet and also the Centre had promised to review the proposal, there was no need to take up the issue at this stage.
Mr Badal cautioned the state government as regards any lethargy on the issue. He promised to extend all cooperation to the government in case it had any concrete programme on the issue. However, he said the government would be responsible in case anything went against the state because of its sluggish handling of the issue.
Today's meeting started on a sweet note. Both Mr Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh were occupying adjoining chairs. At the very beginning, Capt Amarinder Singh offered chewing gum to Mr Badal, which the latter accepted. Later, Mr Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh exchanged notes by talking to each other on various points stated in the resolution.
Mr Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh, who were having the bitterest possible relations for the past many years, buried the differences for a while today for a bigger cause of defending the case of state on river waters. Describing the scene at the meeting, a senior Akali leader said many saw a beginning of a "khamosh mohabbat" between Mr Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh today.
Capt Amarinder Singh said he was grateful to all political leaders who attended the meeting. "I am fully
satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. We all are very small as compared to the collective interests of Punjab," he added. Except Mr Avtar Singh Karimpuri of the BSP, almost all leaders, who were invited to the meeting, attended it. Among them were Mr H.S. Hanspal, Mr Ravi Inder Singh, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, Dr Joginder Dayal (CPI), Mr Balwant Singh (CPM), Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, Mr Avinash Rai Khanna (BJP), Mr Hankanwal Singh, and Mr Attinder Pal Singh. Several Congress Ministers, MPs, MLAs and other leaders were also present.
