Chandigarh: The bout between the Punjab and Haryana units of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal had all the trappings of a friendly match.
The Punjab unit led by Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Haryana unit led by Ashok Tanwar, chairman of Haryana AAP’s campaign committee, held two separate press conferences Thursday, within an hour of one another, staking claim to Sutlej’s waters.
Even more uncanny was that the press conferences were held in two adjacent government bungalows in the Punjab Ministers’ Complex in Sector 39, Chandigarh. Both bungalows are allotted to AAP MLAs from Punjab.
Cheema categorically dismissed the possibility of Punjab giving “even a drop of water” of the Sutlej or any other river to any state, saying that the state is reeling under an acute shortage of water for irrigation. Tanwar, on the other hand, said Haryana will do everything it takes to ensure it gets its rightful share of water from Punjab.
Highlighting this contrast, the Opposition in Punjab was quick to remark that this was proof of the AAP’s “dual-faced hypocrisy” on the issue.
Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa wrote on X Thursday that this warranted an urgent need for voters to wake up to what the “AAP’s fake revolutionaries are up to”.
ਮੈਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਸਮੁੱਚੀ ਅਵਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਸੁਚੇਤ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਹੁਣ ਇੰਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਫਰਜ਼ੀ ਇੰਨਕਲਾਬੀਆਂ (AAP) ਦੀ ਜਮਾਤ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਣ ਦੀ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਲੋੜ ਹੈ।
ਅੱਜ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮਿਨੀਸਟਰ ਕੰਪਲੈਕਸ (Circuit House, Sector 39, Chandigarh) ਵਿਖੇ ਕੋਠੀ ਨੰਬਰ 964 ਵਿੱਚ 12 ਵਜੇ ਆਮ ਆਦਮੀ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਦੀ ਹਰਿਆਣਾ ਯੂਨਿਟ ਪ੍ਰੈਸ ਕਾਨਫਰੰਸ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ ਇਹ ਮੰਤਰੀਆਂ ਵਾਲੀ… pic.twitter.com/NiLCbbbTOd
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) October 5, 2023
On Friday, Bajwa told ThePrint that a political party’s decision to hold a press conference from a government complex “cannot be justified”.
“First of all, it is shocking that houses meant for cabinet ministers were allotted to MLAs. Second, while one can understand that a Punjab MLA’s house was used to hold a press conference by the Punjab unit of the party, by no extent of imagination can a Punjab government house be used for a press conference by the party’s Haryana unit,” he said.
Bajwa also said that the events of the day “completely exposed” the AAP and how its central leadership and Bhagwant Mann “are not serious about the SYL canal issue”.
“They are playing a friendly match with one another, holding press conferences together, using Punjab government houses. They think people of Punjab are fools and will be taken in by all this,” he said.
The proposed 211-km-long SYL canal was intended to formalise the division of water of the Sutlej river between Punjab and Haryana. While the 90-km stretch passing through Haryana was completed by 1980, work on the remaining 121-km stretch on the Punjab side was initiated in 1982 but later shelved owing to political opposition.
Moreover, successive governments in Punjab refused to share the waters of the Sutlej with Haryana and Delhi on the grounds that the state had no water to spare.
The issue flared up again earlier this week after the Supreme Court Wednesday instructed Punjab to complete its portion of the canal.
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‘Will give our lives if we have to’: Majithia
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia too attacked the Mann government over the differing stand of the AAP’s Punjab and Haryana units on the issue.
He pointed out that the bungalow where Cheema addressed the press is allotted to AAP’s Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa, while the bungalow from where Tanwar spoke is allotted to AAP’s Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh.
“It is clear that the Haryana press conference was also hosted and conducted with the help of the Punjab government,” he wrote on X.
ਇਕ ਚੋਰੀ ਉਤੋਂ ਸੀਨਾ ਜ਼ੋਰੀ।
ਵਾਹ ਜੀ ਵਾਹ ਬਦਲਾਅ ਦੀ ਸਰਕਾਰ…..ਪੰਜਾਬ ਖਿਲਾਫ ਬੋਲਣ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਹਰਿਆਣਾ ਦੀ ਆਪ ਟੀਮ ਲਈ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਮੰਤਰੀਆਂ ਵਾਲੀ ਕੋਠੀ…….ਕਮਾਲ ਹੀ ਕਰ ’ਤੀ….ਆਪ ਹਰਿਆਣਾ ਟੀਮ ਨੇ ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ ਦੇ ਸੈਕਟਰ 39 ’ਚ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮੰਤਰੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਬਣੀ ਕੋਠੀ ਨੰਬਰ 964 ਵਿਚ ਪ੍ਰੈਸ ਕਾਨਫਰੰਸ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈ। ਸਦਕੇ ਜਾਈਏ ਭਗਵੰਤ… pic.twitter.com/7QiX9hQW2k
— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) October 5, 2023
In a video message later, Majithia said “the sooner Punjab rids itself of Bhagwant Mann, the better it will be for everyone”.
“We will give up our lives if we have to for the sake of Punjab waters and not a single drop will ever go out,” he added.
ਹਰਿਆਣਾ ਦੇ ਜੰਮਪਲ ਆਪ ਦੇ ਕਨਵੀਨਰ ਅਰਵਿੰਦ ਕੇਜਰੀਵਾਲ ਦੇ ਹੁਕਮਾਂ ’ਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਅੰਨ੍ਹੇਵਾਹ ਲੁੱਟ ’ਤੇ ਲੱਗੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਭਗਵੰਤ ਮਾਨ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਪੂਲ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਵਿਧਾਇਕ ਕੁਲਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਨਾਂ ’ਤੇ ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ ਦੇ ਸੈਕਟਰ 39 ਵਿਚ ਬਣੀਆਂ ਮੰਤਰੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਕੋਠੀਆਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਕੋਠੀ ਨੰਬਰ 964 ਅਲਾਟ ਕੀਤੀ….ਕਾਹਦੇ ਵਾਸਤੇ….ਆਮ ਆਦਮੀ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਦੀ… pic.twitter.com/CrsXowQZdA
— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) October 5, 2023
On Friday, Majithia claimed that he went to the Punjab Ministers’ Complex in Chandigarh to hold a press conference but was asked to leave and told that a political party cannot be allowed to hold a press conference inside the complex.
Police is trying to stop me from doing PC to expose blatant misuse of Government Ministerial Kothis by AAP Convener @ArvindKejriwal and @BhagwantMann. Punjabis want to know how @AamAadmiParty Haryana can do a PC in Punjab Ministerial Kothi for demanding #SYL Canal. How will you… pic.twitter.com/yTNBGzxa8e
— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) October 6, 2023
He also shared a video of himself asking Chandigarh police if they had imposed similar restrictions on AAP leaders who held press conferences there the previous day.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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