हिंदी
(Dr Daljit S Cheema tells CM combining SYL issue with the Indus Water Treaty will compromise the interests of Punjab)
Chandigarh, August 5, 2025
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to explain what stand he had taken in the joint meeting with the Haryana chief minister and the union Akal Shakti minister on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue even as it asked him not to combine this issue with the Indus Water Treaty.
In a statement here, senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the chief minister had only stated that he had put up Punjab’s stand in the meeting but had not spelt out the stand taken by him.
Asserting that the SYL canal issue was one which was linked with the life breath of Punjab and it’s agricultural economy, Dr Daljit Cheema said the chief minister should make Punjab’s stand public so that Punjabis also understood that their government was with them and would safeguard their river waters come what may. “Punjab’s stand is clear. We have no water to give. The land on which the SYL stands in Punjab territory has also been returned to the original cultivators by former chief minister S Parkash Singh Badal”.
Asserting that there were certain misgivings in the minds of Punjabis that the chief minister was combining the SYL issue with the Indus Water Treaty, the SAD leader said the AAP government should clarify that both issues were separate. “We can talk about the Indus Water Treaty and its effect on Punjab as and when any water is distributed to States under this treaty. The SYL issue should be decided on merit and merit was on Punjab’s side as it was a riparian State. Joining both issues will only compromise Punjab’s interests and we cannot allow that to happen”, Dr Cheema added.
