# Cities

Akali Dal questions AAP over Kejriwal’s stance on SYL canal in SC

Additionally, he questioned the AAP government about whether it had ever denounced Sushil Gupta’s claim that, should the party win power in 2024, it would guarantee SYL waters reach every part of the state

SNS | New Delhi | November 6, 2023 1:58 pm

Akali Dal questions AAP over Kejriwal’s stance on SYL canal in SC

AAP has been questioned by senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Virsa Singh Valtoha to clarify why Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court supporting Haryana regarding the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his advisors, according to a statement released here on Sunday, are making ludicrous accusations against the SAD leadership in an attempt to deflect attention from the fact that the state’s river water interests have been jeopardized by the AAP and its government in Punjab.

“The SAD has, however, still given a comprehensive reply on the falsehood being propagated that its government led by Parkash Singh Badal had arrived at a quid pro quo with Chaudhary Devi Lal in 1998 by relining the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal in return for the creation of a canal to take water to the Badal family’s land in Balasar village in Haryana,” Valtoha said.

“We explained that the Balasar canal, which was part of the BML irrigation system, came into existence in 1964, more than a decade before Devi Lal became Chief Minister of Haryana. We have also challenged the Chief Minister to prove his allegation that Parkash Singh Badal wrote letters to the Centre urging it to construct the SYL when he was in jail during the period of Emergency,” the senior Akali leader said.

Additionally, he questioned the AAP government about whether it had ever denounced Sushil Gupta’s claim that, should the party win power in 2024, it would guarantee SYL waters reach every part of the state. He said that the chief minister had not yet taken any action against Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak, who had just argued in favor of Haryana and claimed that the state ought to receive the SYL waters.

The leader of the SAD also mocked recent claims made by an AAP spokesman that people were now aware that the Badal family owned hotels and land in Balasar. “Income tax returns reflect all of this,” he stated, adding that the AAP was using cheap tricks to deflect criticism for its inability to defend Punjabis’ interests in the SYL.