Chandigarh, Apr 4 (PTI) The SAD on Monday asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to call an all-party meeting to take a united stand against the alleged conspiracies to “rob” Punjab of its land and river waters at the “behest of Haryana”.
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Prem Singh Chandumajra’s remarks came ahead of a special session of the Haryana assembly.
Chandumajra said a befitting reply should be given to the “undue central inference in state affairs”.
The Haryana government has summoned a special session of the assembly here on Tuesday, days after the Punjab assembly passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the AAP-ruled state.
Haryana leaders have been demanding the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal for getting the state’s river water share from Punjab. They have also sought the transfer of 400 Hindi-speaking villages to Haryana.
Chandumajra alleged, “(CM Bhagwant) Mann’s inability to present a united front was the reason for today’s state of affairs.” He said the chief minister did not take up the “brazen manner” in which the central government “robbed” Punjab of its representative in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) during his meeting with the prime minister after taking over office.
“This emboldened the Centre which passed a notification extending central civil service rules to union territory employees of Chandigarh,” Chandumajra said in a party release here.
Asserting that the Punjab chief minister only tweeted about the development a day after its occurrence and that the special assembly session did not serve any purpose, Chandumajra said, “It is not too late to make amends even now.” He alleged, “The BJP was cornering Punjab with Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar making unfounded demands which were bereft of any logic.” “All Commissions have made it clear that there are no Hindi speaking areas in Punjab which are in contiguity with Haryana but still Khattar has made this statement to put pressure on Punjab and make it barter for Chandigarh”, Chandumajra said.
The SAD leader said Chandigarh was always a part of Punjab and its “ad-hoc status as a union territory was only a temporary measure.” “So no conditions can be imposed for transferring Chandigarh to Punjab as is being done by the Haryana chief minister,” he added. PTI CHS SUN AQS AQS
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Source: The Print
