SYL again

The INLD in its desperation to maintain a hold over the farming community of Haryana seems prepared to go to any extent to cause trouble, whether or not it has a potential to deliver on the SYL canal. The issue has become inextricably vexed with Punjab having dug enough pitfalls to keep the matter going in courts for years to come. Part of the land acquired for the canal in Punjab has even been returned to the original owners. No party, however, wants to let go an opportunity to burnish its credentials over the matter, its stand depending on which side of the inter-state border it is speaking.

Om Prakash Chautala has given a call to Haryana farmers to start digging the canal on the Punjab side on February 23, a day after the hearing on the matter in the Supreme Court. Other than stoke enmity between people of Haryana and Punjab, his antics can serve no other purpose. If he believes something can be done outside the judicial process, he could have taken any action while he was the Chief Minister. True to form, Punjab leaders, both Congress and SAD, have responded with matching statements of preparedness to defend the state's interest. What they should be doing instead is work out a tenable defence of Punjab’s claim on the basis of change in the quantity of water available, current requirements, and flaws in the original awards.

The Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, which Punjab leaders keep harping on has already been invalidated by the Supreme Court. Working up passions on either side can only lead to further law and order complications, if not violence. Capt Amarinder Singh invoking the ghost of “terrorism” at every twist and turn of the case does no good to the cause. While Chautala’s parole conditions need to be examined to see if he can be participating in political events, it would be good if all political parties maintained restraint and made a sincere effort to fight their battles within the ambit of the law.