No cost big enough for Akali Dal to protect Punjab’s interests on river waters: Chandumajra

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 31

A day after Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh called a meeting of Congress MPs of the two Houses of Parliament to discuss Budget proposals for the next fiscal and issues pending with the Centre, SAD  leader Prem Singh Chandumajra on Thursday said considering issues pertaining to the state were being discussed Akali MPs should also have been invited to the meeting.

Regretting that the Chief Minister did not deem it fit to invite Akali Dal MPs to the meeting, Chandumajra said issues were common and if raised collectively on the floor of the House, they could have been taken up more forcefully. He also charged Singh with sabotaging the goodwill that had emerged at an all-party meeting earlier.

Asserting that his party would go to any extent to protect the interests of Punjab on river waters, Chandumajra made it clear that the move to amend Section 12 of the waters dispute legislation to provide protection to the verdicts of the earlier tribunals was not acceptable to the Akali Dal.

“The Akali Dal has glorious tradition of fighting for the interests of Punjab on every issue and this tradition would be maintained to protect waters of state’s rivers. The party, as always, is fully prepared to pay every cost in this fight that is for survival of the people in this food basket of the country,” he said.

The senior Akali leader also urged Singh to take up this issue aggressively as the state was heading towards desertification and claim Punjab’s share under the Atal Bhoo Jal Yojana.

Meanwhile, referring to the Agriculture Price Commission’s recommendation to the Centre to review the minimum support price for the farm produce, he said MSP should in fact be included as a fundamental right to provide permanent relief to the farmers all over the country. Fundamental reforms are required to confront the deepening crisis, he said, calling upon the Punjab government to put pressure on the Centre in this regard.