Chandigarh, Oct 17 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to clarify whether he stood with his Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak's stand that Haryana should get water from the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and if not, what action he proposed to take against him.
In a statement here, senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said “the Chief Minister wants to hold a debate on the SYL canal on November 1 but his own government has compromised the state’s case in the Supreme Court".
"Now an AAP MP from Punjab is batting for Haryana and upholding the Supreme Court verdict and even claiming that the matter is only political," he said.
On an important issue of SYL canal & supply of water to Haryana, the AAP General Secretary & Rajya Sabha MP Mr Sandeep Pathak has openly supported the stand of Haryana. In his statement in the Tribune today, he has said that SYL issue is only political & it surfaced only during… pic.twitter.com/6Y4APBg1qv
— Dr Daljit S Cheema (@drcheemasad) October 17, 2023
Claiming that the AAP leadership had shown its true colours on the SYL issue, Cheema said: "We want to make it clear to AAP on behalf of Punjabis that we do not think this issue is political. It concerns our life and blood and the future of our generations. We will not let outsiders like Sandeep Pathak who represent Punjab with the blessings of AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal sell off our interests to Haryana at any cost."
Asking the Chief Minister to walk the talk before November 1, Cheema said the former should seek Pathak’s resignation. "The Chief Minister should also tell Punjabis who has authorised Pathak to take an anti-Punjab stance on the SYL canal issue. If he does not do these two things immediately it will be proved beyond doubt that Bhagwant Mann is part of the conspiracy to hand over Punjab’s river waters to Haryana and that he is indulging in a drama of a debate to mislead Punjabis on this most sensitive issue."
