Haryana All-Party Meeting Demands Unconditional Water Release from Punjab

The stand-off between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing intensified on Saturday with an all-party meeting in Haryana on Saturday calling on the AAP government in the neighbouring state to allow the release of water from the Bhakra dam unconditionally. This came a day after an all-party meeting in Punjab backed the state government's refusal to release more water to BJP-ruled Haryana.

The meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday slammed the Punjab government's move, calling its move "unconstitutional, illegal, inhuman and inappropriate". The Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab was told to implement the decision taken by Bhakra Beas Management Board's technical committee here recently, as all major political parties in Haryana put up a united face over the issue.

"The all-party meeting decided that the Mann government should release water immediately and unconditionally," Saini later said at a press conference in the presence of leaders from various parties who attended the meet. Among the leaders present in the meeting were Haryana's Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Shruti Choudhry, Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana, Energy Minister Anil Vij, State BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli, Congress's Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state Congress chief Udai Bhan, JJP's Dushyant Chautala, INLD's Rampal Majra and AAP's Sushil Gupta.

A resolution was passed at the meeting in which an appeal was made to the Punjab government that the decisions of BBMB's technical committee dated April 23 and another one on April 30 should be implemented forthwith unconditionally. "They should immediately remove the inhuman, unconstitutional, illegal and inappropriate bar on the release of water. We resolve to ensure it and the construction of the SYL canal.

We are ready to fight any battle," Saini said. "We appeal to people of both states to maintain peace," he said. "They have cut drinking water. All parties have expressed a strong reaction to this. All parties said they will work unitedly to protect state's interests, not just as Haryana political parties, but as Indians who have deep faith in federal structure and brotherhood, " said Saini.