INLD to gherao Parliament over SYL canal on March 15

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 27

Taking its campaign for early construction of SYL canal further, the Indian National Lok Dal

(INLD) today announced to gherao the Parliament and hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on this issue on March 15.

Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala announced this today on his arrival from the Patiala jail where he and several other MLAs and party leaders were lodged after their arrest at Shambhu barrier on February 23 when they were trying to cross over to Punjab for digging of the SYL.

Earlier, a posse of personnel from the Punjab Police escorted the buses carrying Chautala, his party MLAs and other leaders from the Patiala jail to the INLD office in Chandigarh hours before the start of session of the state Assembly.

“The Punjab Government has been forced to withdraw cases registered against us as we had refused to seek bail,” Abhay Singh claimed after the INLD workers alighted from buses belonging to Gobindgarh Public School and Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh.

Accusing Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of weakening Haryana’s stand on the SYL issue, Chautala alleged that though it was decided in the all-party meeting that he would lead a joint deputation of all political parties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he had failed to get the PM’s appointment so far.

“Now, we have sought appointment from Modi and if we fail to get it before March 15, we will go ahead with our programme to gherao the Parliament on that day. And in future, we will not become part of any delegation headed by Khattar on this issue,” he said.

He said 6,843 village panchayats of the state had given their resolutions for early construction of the SYL canal to the INLD and the party would hand these over to the PM in case he provided them a hearing.

Meanwhile, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda pooh-poohed the arrest and subsequent release of Chautala and others as a “fixed match between the INLD and the SAD (B).”

“When the Supreme Court has already passed its verdict in favour of Haryana, the ball now lies in the Centre’s court to construct the canal at the earliest. The INLD’s campaign on this issue is nothing but a political gimmick,” Hooda said.