"We need water for paddy cultivation": Punjab Minister Tarunpreet Sond amid water row with Haryana

Chandigarh [India], May 2 (ANI): Amid the water dispute with Haryana, Punjab Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said that Punjab has provided excess water to Haryana even though it has overdrawn.
Sond opposed transferring excess water and insisted it should stay with Punjab for paddy cultivation.
Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "Haryana has used 103 per cent of its water allocation already till March 2025, which should have been used till 21 May. Rajasthan has used 110 per cent as well. Punjab provided surplus water to Haryana despite its overdraw, but opposes any further transfers, and we insist that unused Punjab water remains with Punjab since we need a lot of it for the paddy crop."
Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli on Thursday accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal of politicising the drinking water issue and instigating Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to deny more water to Haryana to avenge AAP's defeat in the Delhi elections.
Badoli's remarks came after Chief Minister Mann on Tuesday refused to release more water to Haryana and accused the BJP-led central government of exerting pressure on the Punjab government through the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to meet Haryana's demand.
Badoli warned AAP that the people of Punjab will teach them a lesson for doing politics on water.
Speaking to ANI, Haryana BJP president Badoli said, "When the AAP government was in Punjab and Delhi, they used to misguide people the same way during the three months of summer. They used to lie, claiming a shortage of water. Politicising a matter like drinking water is Arvind Kejriwal's old habit... To take revenge on the people of Delhi for their loss in the elections, Kejriwal instigated Bhagwant Mann to make such statements. For this, too, the people of Punjab will teach AAP a lesson."
Earlier, Delhi minister Parvesh Verma alleged that Punjab is deliberately blocking water supply to both Haryana and Delhi in a politically motivated move.
In a post on X, Parvesh Verma said, "The Punjab government has resorted to dirty politics by stopping the water supply to Haryana and Delhi. After losing in Delhi, now they want to create a water crisis in Delhi."
He further asserted that the Delhi government is making continuous efforts to ensure clean water reaches every household and accused Punjab of seeking "revenge" on Delhi's residents.
"We are working day and night to provide clean water to every household in Delhi and now the Punjab government wants to take revenge on the people of Delhi in this way. Stop this dirty politics or else you will be expelled from Punjab as well."
The remarks come amid reports of reduced water flow to Delhi at a time when the national capital is already facing rising temperatures and growing demand for water. (ANI)