AAP lied on giving water to Haryana, alleges BJP

Alleging that the Punjab government had lied about giving water to Haryana, the BJP led by its district president Nipun Sharma, burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and held a protest. Former Member of Parliament Avinash Rai Khanna, while talking to media persons after the protest, said the decision to allocate 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana by the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB), had caused serious damage to the interests of Punjab. The clear stand taken by the Punjab BJP was that the state does not have even a drop of extra water to give to other states. The Punjab BJP completely disagrees with the decision and it should be withdrawn immediately, Khanna said. Punjab was already facing a water shortage with 115 zones having already been declared dark zones. The water level in the dams was continuously declining and major water bodies like Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar were well below the normal level. Therefore, the question of giving water does not arise, he said.

The BJP Punjab will not allow the interests of the state to be ignored at any cost, he asserted, and said it was regrettable that the Punjab government could not present its side effectively in the BBMB meeting on this important issue.

Because of the AAP government’s dichotomous behaviour, the farmers of the state may have to face severe water crisis in the coming days, Khanna said. District BJP president Nipun Sharma said the Punjab government was trying to divert the attention of the people by protesting outside the BJP office and held the AAP government in state responsible for the situation.