‘No spare water for Hry': AAP rallyists at BJP office in Ludhiana
A day after the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) directed Punjab to immediately release 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana, leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by cabinet minister Hardeep Singh Mundian, staged a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Ludhiana on Thursday. The protesters were confronted by BJP supporters with Modi-Modi chants.
During the AAP's protest, an effigy of Union minister of state for railways and food processing Ravneet Singh Bittu was burnt and the protesters, who were heading towards the BJP office, were stopped by police personnel.
Cabinet minister Mundian said the Punjab government won't tolerate the BJP's efforts to 'snatch' water from the state through the BBMB. While speaking to mediapersons on the spot, Hardeep Singh Mundian said the Centre and the BJP governments of Delhi and Haryana had conspired against Punjab to snatch Punjab's water resource. He challenged the Punjab BJP leaders to clarify their stand and questioned their silence on this matter, calling it stabbing the state of Punjab in the back.
Mundian said the central government and the neighbouring state of Haryana had already tried to 'rob' Punjab of its rights. 'The Centre has damaged Punjab's industrial sector by giving concessions to neighbouring states. Now, they have tried to rob the rights of the riparian state and such nefarious designs won't be allowed to succeed. The state government is committed to protecting the waters of Punjab and no one's interference in this matter will be tolerated,' he said.
The MLAs said that the BBMB's directive to Punjab for releasing 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana could lead to a crisis in Punjab. 'AAP will not allow a single drop of our water to be diverted to Haryana,' they emphasised.
'It risks disrupting Punjab's irrigation systems, severely impacting agriculture and potentially leading to an energy crisis due to effects on power generation. It will leave millions of farmers in distress,' Mundian stated.
Among those present were MLAs Ashok Parashar Pappi, Madan Lal Bagga, Kulwant Singh Sidhu, Daljit Singh Bhola Grewal, Jiwan Singh Sangowal and Markfed chairman Amandeep Singh Mohi who said that diverting 8,500 cusecs of water could dry up canals, harm farmers and disrupt power supply, pushing Punjab towards darkness.
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