Water is our lifeline, we will not let it go: Punjab CM on SYL Verdict

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], Nov. 11 (ANI): Following the Supreme Court's order on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal which struck down Punjab's termination of water-sharing agreement with other states, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday asserted that water sharing was not a political issue as it is their lifeline, adding that his government will remain firm on its stand in the matter. Badal told ANI, the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, through which Punjab was to share water with Haryana would be an obstacle to the economic development for the farmers of Punjab. "We are firm on our decision as this is not Punjab's political issue and people are saying it all wrong. This is the matter of livelihood and economics. And, if there will be no water, then how will farmers survive? Water is our lifeline and we will not let it go," he said. "I would like to say that this is not a decision, it is an advice. This issue of water is not something new to Punjab, it is something very old. And Punjab never got water from any government, Punjab has natural rives and every district receives their share of water.What we have got as nature's gift is water and according to International Conventional Law, water belong to those from where the main river flows. We only want our right, we do not want anything else," he added. Following the Supreme Court's drastic verdict, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh, whose government had passed the Termination of River Waters Act in 2004, resigned from his Lok Sabha seat, Amritsar along with all 42 party MLAs who also quit their assembly seats in protest against the "injustice meted out to the people of the state". Later, reacting to the SAD-BJP government's calling an emergency session of the assembly on November 16, he said the "Badals are now indulging in theatrics". "It's too late for them to be thinking of ways and means to wriggle out of the situation that is of their own making. They plan to hold a special session of the assembly to pass a bill now when they had 10 years to resolve the issue. They also do not have the requisite 2/3rd majority to pass any such bill in the House," Singh said The Supreme Court's verdict on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal on Thursday, came as a huge setback to the Punjab government, as it set aside Punjab government's order repealing water sharing agreement with Haryana. The Apex Court ruled that the legislations passed by the Punjab Government on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute stood null and void as a bilateral agreement couldn't be tampered with by one party alone. (ANI)