CHANDIGARH: The Akali Dal Mann chief, Simranjit Singh has vehemently opposed the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal and asked the stop work on the project.
Addressing a congregation at Gurdwara Tambu Sahib in Muktsar Mann said that AISSF workers would stop work on the SYL if the state govt failed to do. This is for the first time that a senior Akali Dal leader has condemned the SYL project which if completed would deprive Punjab of a third of its irrigation water.
It may be recalled that the traditional Akali leaders like Barnala, Longowal, Badal and Tohra backed the Rajiv Longowal accord which provided for the construction of the SYL canal. Mann n the other hand rejected the accord. He said Sikhs were fighting for their rights and were not seeking favours from the center. Hindu he said had broken all promises to the Sikhs since 1929 when they joined hands with them to oppose British rule.
The Dal M leader deplored the deployment of National Security Guards in the border districts of Punjab. This amounted to handing over civil administration to the army which were contrary to the international commitments of the govt of India he said.
The Haryana govt evidently was not expecting the Akalis to take the kind of stand Mann took on the SYL canal. Deputy PM Devi Lal had cultivated other Akali leaders so that they did not talk about the SYL. The Akalis had launched their morcha in 1982 precisely to oppose this project.
Alarmed by Mann’s stand Haryana chief minister B.D Gupta contacted Punjab Governor Verma to be assured that the project would be completed before year end. Gupta even threatened that Punjab Haryana relations would be strained if the project was halted.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 29, 1990
