Sidhu warns on Twitter: Real target is Punjab river water, not Chandigarh 

Sidhu took to Twitter on Monday claiming that Haryana’s real target is control over the river water of Punjab. 

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday said that Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and will always remain so, warning that the “next big battle” will be over river waters. Former Congress President of Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu got involved in the Chandigarh row by declaring his opinion on the issue.

Sidhu insisted that Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and will always continue to remain so. On Monday, Sidhu took it upon himself to tweet and claim that Chandigarh is not the real target of Haryana, but it is the river waters of Punjab, and urged the state to be ready for the ‘next big battle’.

Chandigarh is made up of 27 villages in Punjab and is the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana. Sidhu wrote in Hindi that the actual target is not apparent; trying to gain control over Chandigarh is just an excuse or as he wrote “bahana”. Their real target or “nishana” is the abundant river water that flows through Punjab.

He warned on Twitter to be aware of the “next big battle” which is going to be over the river water of Punjab. In his post, he tagged  AAP chief and Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Singh Mann and Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar.

Sidhu’s tweet on the ongoing dispute over the control of Chandigarh using a popular Hindi song as a reference came a day after many Haryana leaders demanded the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal to get their share of the river water.

On Friday, the Punjab assembly had passed a resolution about the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab immediately. The government of Haryana also called for a special session of the Haryana state assembly to discuss the issue on Tuesday.

The Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal has continued to be the topic of argument between the two-state for several decades. Haryana had been looking forward to the completion of the SYL canal to obtain the state’s share of 3.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of water. In the past, Punjab had also asked for a reassessment of their share of Ravi-Beas water.

  Sunil Jakhar called Chandigarh a “lost cause” 

Senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar called Chandigarh a “lost cause”. He said that the camaraderie between the people of the Punjab and Haryana will be the first casualty of the animosity over the control of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Jakhar tweeted his opinion along with the pictorial illustration of a well-known children’s story of two fighting cats and an observer monkey.

 Haryana and Punjab contest over Capital city 

Bhagwant Mann, the newly elected Chief Minister of Punjab, led the Punjab Assembly to pass a resolution asking the Union government for the immediate transfer of control of the common capital of Chandigarh to Punjab.

The animosity between Punjab and Haryana governments rose higher after the government of Haryana and the Opposition there opposed the resolution passed by the Vidhan Sabha of Punjab. Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana termed the proposal of the Punjab government to transfer the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the shared capital, to Punjab as “one-sided” and “meaningless” and insisted that Chandigarh will remain to be the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab. 

Haryana CM also appreciated the decision of the Union government to apply central service regulations to the employees of the Union Territory. He also accused the Punjab government of deceiving the public on the topic.  

Khattar said to the media that Chandigarh was reserved as the capital of the two states, i.e. Punjab and Haryana. He added that the 60:40 ratio of employees, buildings and other things has been the same for a long time. Haryana is not willing to give up Chandigarh neither is Punjab backing down.

Edited by Subbuthai Padma

Published by Iram Rizvi