Is Sukhbir Badal Right in Calling River Water Issue a 'Loot' Against Punjab?

Chandigarh, May 4 (NationPress) President of Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhbir Badal, expressed on Sunday that the matter regarding the water of Punjab’s rivers is not a dispute but rather a blatant theft against the citizens of this patriotic border state.

The Akali leader warned the nation that failing to address the causes of Punjabis' alienation could lead us back to the challenging conditions that plagued us for over twenty years. He emphasized that justice is vital for maintaining peace and communal harmony throughout the country.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Badal urged him to resolve the issues that have caused undue suffering in the past. He stated, “Addressing Punjab’s rightful grievances and preventing the recurrence of our painful history should be a national priority. To resolve the river water matter, justice must be extended to my state according to the principles upheld in interstate disputes across the nation. Punjabis do not seek special treatment; they merely desire justice.”

He criticized the Punjab Chief Minister, claiming that his and his party’s repeated pledges to “irrigate every field in Haryana and Rajasthan with Punjab’s river waters” undermine Punjab’s legitimate stance that it has not a single drop of water to spare. “The Chief Minister is engaging in dangerous duplicity, failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation. He must cease this double-talk,” Badal asserted.

Badal declared that Shiromani Akali Dal would not passively observe any discrimination against Punjab on this or any other matter. “We will exercise our democratic right to ensure that no unfairness is inflicted upon the state,” he stated. He pointed out that Haryana and Rajasthan have always been illegal beneficiaries of Punjab’s primary natural resource—the river waters—breaching the Riparian principle, the only principle relevant in both national and international contexts regarding river water allocation. Neither Haryana nor Rajasthan qualifies as a Riparian state.

He lamented that Punjab has been dealt with harshly even in judicial matters. “The Supreme Court mandated Punjab to initiate construction of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal without assessing the availability of water in the relevant rivers. This would have been the first canal globally constructed without verifying if there is water to flow through it,” he remarked, noting that then-Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal firmly rejected this order, asserting he would prefer imprisonment to compromising Punjab’s legitimate rights. Badal then ordered the return of lands acquired for SYL to their original farmer owners.

Addressing the recent controversy over water release to Haryana, the Akali chief pointed out that Haryana has already consumed more than its rightful share of river resources, which were unfairly allocated to it as it lacks entitlement to those waters. Instead of showing gratitude to Punjab, it audaciously demands even more water, he added.