CHANDIGARH: A day after Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Maan ruled out any move to spare water for neighbouring states, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said that with the Supreme Court order in force, the Punjab government and its people must change their attitude towards the subject.
Interacting with media here, Khattar criticised the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government, saying it had double standards on the SYL canal issue. "Aam Aadmi Party should articulate a definitive stance. It should not confine its discussions solely to Punjab Bhawan, but extend its deliberations to encompass a wider perspective on the dispute," he said. Khattar also called the Mann government a 'do muhi sarkar' (two-faced government) for giving contradictory statements on the issue and added that instead of finding an amicable solution, the Punjab government was shedding crocodile tears.
"Supreme Court has given a three-month deadline to the central government to take possession of land which has been acquired," he said while urging the Centre to immediately start the survey process in Punjab to complete the work on SYL canal. The CM also expressed gratitude to the Supreme Court for its decision on early construction of the canal. "Haryana has always been in favour of finding solutions through mutual dialogue. But Punjab's attitude has always been adamant," Khattar said. The CM added Punjab had always insisted on sharing water instead of constructing the SYL canal, whereas in 2002, the Supreme Court had given a decree in favour of Haryana. "Also, the dispute over the construction of the SYL canal has not been linked to Para 9.3 of the agreement. This makes it clear that the construction of the SYL canal has nothing to do with water sharing among the states and is not a water dispute," said Khattar.
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