PATIALA: The Sutlej Yamuna Link canal would not be allowed to be completed at any cost until Punjab was given its due share from the river waters said Jagmeet Singh Brar a Congress MP and former general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress (I). Brar was speaking at a function organized here by the Punjabi Vikas Manch to honor him.

Brar said that the Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lals dream of getting the SYL canal completed would never be fulfilled until justice was done to Punjab on the water issue. He said the Eradi commission award was not acceptable to Punjabis.

He said that the Prime Minister Narasimha Rao should visit Punjab at the earliest and should go to the Golden Temple to assure the Punjabis that they would be treated fairly all over the country and the past incidents like riots in Delhi Operation Blue Star etc would not be repeated.

He said that there was also a need to withdraw black laws like TADA NSA and to grant general amnesty to political detainees in Punjab to make way for restoring peace in the state. Brar said that the Punjab government should not opt for a confrontation with the main opposition parties and it should face the consequences of registering a murder case against Gurcharan Singh Tohra he said that such action on the part of the government would be taken as attack on the SGPC and would aggravate the Punjab problem

He said that in figure if there would be a surplus water with the Punjab it should be sold and not given free to any state.

Brar said that all Punjabis should unite and fight for their rights.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 5, 1992