Punjab is the only rightful owner of its waters, says CM Badal

Reiterating that as per the universally accepted Riparian Principle, Punjab was the "only rightful owner" of its river waters, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said no other state had any right over it.

Addressing a gathering in Bucho Mandi assembly segment in Bathinda, Badal said river water was the state's only natural resource and there was no question of sharing it with "any other state" as Punjab did not have "a single drop of excess water".

Badal said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was ever ready to preserve the water of the state by making any sacrifice as it was the "lifeline" of Punjab.

Badal categorically said there was no need for the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, adding that its construction "would not be allowed at any cost".

In an attack on the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the veteran Akali leader alleged that the two were "conniving with each other to deprive the Punjabis of every single drop of water".

Badal alleged that the Congress had divested the state of its rights by giving water to Rajasthan, Haryana and other states, adding that now, the AAP too had joined the Congress to "rob the state of its waters".

Badal claimed that while the Congress had, in the past, signed various agreements to deprive Punjab of its waters, the AAP was now trying its level best to ensure that these agreements were implemented at the earliest.

Describing state Congress chief Amarinder Singh's resignation from the post of MP, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict on river waters, as a "mere political stunt", the chief minister dared him to explain why the other Congress MPs too had not resigned in a show of solidarity with the state at this hour of crisis.