Tell Centre to withdraw case from SC: Phoolka to Badal

Tribune News Service

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Barnala, March 20

Senior lawyer and AAP leader HS Phoolka today said the water crisis in the state was the creation of the Union Government. Earlier, it was the Congress government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and now the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

Talking to the media, Phoolka claimed the Congress government in 1976 and 1982 had created troubles for the state. “The Union Government has the powers to restore the rights of Punjab over its river waters. But Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, instead of forcing the BJP-led government at the Centre to withdraw the case, is diverting the issue to get political mileage,” he alleged.

Phoolka said in 2004, the UPA government had sent the case to the Supreme Court through the President by way of Presidential Reference. “The Supreme Court is hearing the case at present. The Centre has the power to withdraw the case through the President and resolve the matter itself,” he said.

The AAP leader said Badal should fulfill his duty towards Punjab by forcing the Centre to withdraw the case and revise the earlier decisions to protect the rights of Punjab over its waters.