Haryana: Opposition wants all-party meeting on SYL row

Geetanjali Gayatri

Chandigarh, October 5

With Punjab calling an emergency Cabinet meeting to summon a special Vidhan Sabha session, the Opposition in Haryana wants the Chief Minister to call an all-party meeting in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and lead a delegation to take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Govt should go by SC orders

‘There was no need for an all-party meeting since there was a clear consensus that the SYL channel should be constructed. The SC has given a decision and the government should go by the apex court orders.’

— Om Prakash Dhankar, BJP President

Maintaining that the SC order had attained finality in 2016, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said: “The CM should have led an all-party delegation to meet the Prime Minister on the SYL issue after the court gave a verdict in Haryana’s favour. However, that did not happen and no effort has ever been made to organise the meeting to protect Haryana’s interests. I have maintained all along that talking to Punjab was pointless when the court had clearly stated that the canal should be constructed.”

Indian National Lok Dal MLA Abhay Chautala said the Haryana Government, on the lines of the Punjab Government, should summon a special session to discuss the way forward with all parties. “Also, since Punjab has summoned a session, it will again try to derail the process. The government should move court to stall any such attempt,” he stated.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashok Tanwar said the BJP-JJP should pick up from where it left in 2017. “The meeting between the all-party delegation with the Prime Minister has been pending for seven years. While we met the then President and the then Home Minister, the PM does not seem to have taken the interest of Haryana seriously or Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has failed to convince him to intervene and resolve the long-pending dispute. Also, political parties should rise above petty gains and one-upmanship and proceed with what is right,” Tanwar maintained, adding that it should not be made into an election issue and forgotten later.

Meanwhile, BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar claimed that there was no need for an all-party meeting since there was a clear consensus that the SYL channel should be constructed. “The SC has given a decision that an alternative channel is needed to carry the water. The government should go by the apex court’s orders. There is nothing to say in the matter,” he said.

Sources said the Haryana Government was awaiting a copy of the order to decide the next course of action, even as sources maintained that the SC had made it clear that the SYL had to be constructed. “There is nothing for us to do. Punjab has to get going after it was pulled up by the court,” an officer said.