SYL verdict - Amarinder questions Kejriwal's silence

Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh on Saturday questioned AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his silence on the Supreme Court judgement on SYL issue

Chandigarh, Nov 12 Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh on Saturday questioned AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his silence on the Supreme Court judgement, which declared the state's legislation on Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) water issue unconstitutional.

He asked the Delhi Chief Minister to clarify his stand on the issue.

"Kejriwal has not uttered a single word in support of the state," said Amarinder Singh, asking the AAP leader what this silence on his part meant.

"Does it mean you are not supporting Punjab's stand on the issue," the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief said.

He demanded that Kejriwal spell out clearly whether he was with Punjab or Haryana or with Delhi in the Satluj-Yamuna Link canal (SYL) case, an official statement quoting Amarinder Singh said.

"Will you, or will you not, allow Punjab's water to go to Haryana and Delhi."

"You have been doing a flip flop on the issue for the past several months, clearly indicating your duplicity in the matter," he said.

The Congress will hold a protest rally on the SYL issue at Khuian Sarwar village on the Abohar-Ganganagar highway, 15 km from Abohar, on Sunday.

Khuian Sarwar, a village in Fazilka district, is the area that will be the worst affected if the Supreme Court's decision on the SYL is implemented.

To lodge their protest over the verdict, all 42 Congress legislators, including Leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi, submitted their resignations to assembly secretary Shashi Lakhanpal Mishra here on Friday.

Holding that the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004, was not in conformity with the provisions of the Constitution, the Supreme Court's constitution bench of Justice Anil R. Dave, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Amitava Roy on Thursday answered in the negative to all the four questions referred to the top court in a Presidential reference.

While Justice Dave pronounced the opinion for the majority of the judges, Justice Singh, while agreeing with the majority view, gave his own observations.

At the initiative of the then Congress government headed by Amarinder Singh, the Punjab assembly had unanimously passed the law terminating all the agreements with Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh and Delhi on the sharing of Sutlej-Yamuna river water.

IANS