punjab

Updated: Jul 02, 2016 15:44 IST

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, on Friday, said nature had blessed Punjab with enough water and they won’t share it with anyone.

He said he was ready to sacrifice the government over Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) issue, but would not let anyone give state’s water to others. Badal was here to hold the “Sangat Darshan” in five villages of Dirba constituency in Sangrur.

Read more: Badal terms Amarinder, Kejriwal misfit for holding public meetings

On the sidelines of the event, Badal said all those who were seeking political benefits were supporting the SYL.

He said just as Rajasthan was rich in producing marbles and they sale it on their conditions; similarly, Punjab government was owner of the water of Punjab.

“No other state can take water from Punjab,” said Badal, adding, “If SYL is being created, then none can stop Punjab from getting ruined.”

Badal hopes that the Supreme Court would make decision on the SYL within a month, which hopefully would be in favour of Punjab.

“Permission to SYL will disturb the whole economy of the state in which farmers will suffer the most and it will also have an impact on country’s economy,” said Badal.

‘Delhi regrets electing Kejri’

Talking about the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) dreams to grab power in Punjab, Badal said party chief Arvind Kejriwal was from Haryana. “He has no past, present or future in Punjab,” said Badal.

Badal said, “Allured by his promises, Delhi elected Kejriwal but are now regretting their decision as he could not fulfill anyone of his promises. In a short political career, Kejriwal has become an expert in fooling people.”

Moreover, taking a dig at Congress’s promise of job for one person in every house, Badal said if Congress could really do this, they would have done that when they were in power in Punjab. He said the Congress should not make lame statements and promises which could not be kept.

Meanwhile, during “Sangat Darshan” when Badal was giving away grants to panchayats, eight people on the venue gate started shouting anti-government slogan and were pushed away by the police. Meanwhile, at Sangat Darshan at Geeta Bhawan, Dirba, when residents of Baazigar Basti reached the venue and came forward to meet the CM, the security stopped them to go further and asked them to go out, because their names were not in the list of people who would meet CM.

The resented people started shouting anti government slogans. One of the residents, Rajveer, said, “Even on light rain our locality turns into a pond and despite requesting the authorities so many times, none of them has turned up for help. The ‘Sangat Darshan’ is a planned programme as who would meet the CM and who would not. Only the Akali panchayats are being let to meet the CM whereas other people cannot even go near the CM.”

Similarly, at Kohrian village, nearly 40 elderly women, who were requesting authorities to let them meet the CM, had to return disappointed. They said the sarpanch of their village called them here with the promise that he would let them meet the CM and would appraise him about their issues. “But he had called us here just to increase the attendance of the public,” an elder woman Balbir Kaur said, adding, “They are not getting old age pension and they have come to meet the CM, but to no avail.”