Chandigarh, May 2 (IANS) Condemning Punjab political parties for politicising the river water issue, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday advised the leaders not to indulge in petty politics.

He said “if politics continues like this, the water will go waste and flow into Pakistan”. “Punjab is the land of the Gurus, and we bow to them. Work for the welfare of Punjab’s people. Haryana was once a part of Punjab and emerged from there. Such low-level politics is not good for anyone,” Saini told the media after attending the Quality Assurance Conclave organised by the Quality Assurance Authority in Panchkula, near here.

“As the head of Haryana, I assure that if the people of Punjab ever need drinking water, we will install tubewells, extract water from our groundwater, and provide it to them. I guarantee that no person in Punjab will remain thirsty,” he said. The Chief Minister said, “If we look at past records, Haryana is only asking for the water it has always received. Water is a natural resource. If politics continues like this, the water will go waste and flow into Pakistan, which has been shedding the blood of our unarmed citizens.”

The Chief Minister reiterated that Haryana is only asking for the share of water it used to receive earlier, not more than that. “We are also seeking the same SYL water as per the agreement. The Supreme Court has ruled that this is our right,” he added.

The Chief Minister’s reaction came in the wake of an all-party meeting called by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann to condemn the move of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to supply river water to Haryana.

During the meeting, the leaders unanimously said that Mann has taken a decision to bring all the political parties on a single platform to save the waters of the state. They said it is high time the state should explore all the legal, political and administrative measures to safeguard the interests of the state on the issue of river waters. All the political parties also urged the Chief Minister to make every effort for protecting the rights of the state and its people over this issue of river waters. They also lauded the Chief Minister for giving 4,000 cusec of water to Haryana daily to meet their drinking water needs on humanitarian grounds.

The Punjab leaders said it “is a noble initiative but the manner in which the Haryana government and the BBMB has adopted a hostile, authoritarian and anti-Punjab stance to snatch our waters is highly condemnable”.

--IANS

vg/uk