Chandigarh, May 2 —In a rare show of political unity, leaders of all major parties in Punjab on Friday unanimously resolved that not a single drop of additional water would be released to Haryana from the Bhakra Dam, amid mounting tensions over inter-state water sharing.
The decision emerged from a two-hour all-party meeting convened by the Punjab government and chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Representatives from across the political spectrum endorsed the state government’s stance, authorizing it to determine the way forward in defending Punjab’s rights over its river waters.
“We are all on the same page—there’s no politics when it comes to safeguarding Punjab’s waters,” Chief Minister Mann said after the meeting.
“The Governor has cleared the proposal for a special session of the Vidhan Sabha on May 5. We will share the agenda with all parties and seek their inputs before presenting a unified front to the Prime Minister.”
The dispute centers on Haryana’s request for additional water after reportedly exhausting its quota for the depletion period from September 21 to May 20. On April 4, Punjab released 4,000 cusecs to Haryana on what it termed “humanitarian grounds.”
However, leaders said that the goodwill gesture could not be misinterpreted as an obligation.
“They exhausted their share. We gave them extra once, but now it’s being forced on us,” Mann said. “You can’t compel Punjabis to give in like this.”
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, who attended the meeting alongside senior party leader Manoranjan Kalia, confirmed that the BJP’s state unit was aligned with the government’s stance.
“This injustice to Punjab will not be tolerated,” Jakhar said, though he noted that such confrontations should ideally be avoided.
Echoing similar sentiments, Congress leader Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said, “All party leaders supported the government in determining the future course of action.”
The unified front marks a significant moment in Punjab’s political discourse, with parties setting aside their ideological differences to present a collective stand on an issue long central to the state’s interests.
As anticipation builds ahead of the May 5 Vidhan Sabha session, all eyes are now on how the unified stand will translate into legislative and diplomatic action at the state and national levels.
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