Accusing all Opposition parties including Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of lacking “any intention” to solve Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday said previous governments betrayed people of Punjab and allowed construction of SYL Canal for their vested interest.

Addressing a Press conference at party headquarters, state chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said for the first time, the right demand has been raised and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has asked the Centre to construct the Yamuna Satluj Link (YSL) instead of SYL amidst depleting water of Punjab.

He alleged previous CMs including Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh had worked clandestinely to weaken the rights of Punjab over SYL issue.

Kang said when Badal was CM in 1978, he had allowed his Haryana counterpart Devi Lal to conduct a survey for the SYL canal. Badal had also issued a notification for acquiring the land.

Further giving reference to Assembly records, Kang said Haryana CM Devi Lal, during his address in the session, had said that what his predecessors were not able to obtain, he will do it with the help of his “dear friend” Parkash Singh Badal.

Similarly, then CM Captain Amarinder Singh had laid the foundation stone of the SYL on the directions of then PM Indira Gandhi. This clearly shows that SAD and Congress had always worked against Punjab’s interests, the AAP spokesperson added.

He said AAP would take all legal options to protect its waters as Punjab does not have even a single drop of spare water. Kang said over 78 per cent of our 150 blocks are in extreme dark zones due to depletion of ground water table, therefore, Punjab can’t afford to share its water with any other state, rather water from Ganga and Yamuna should be supplied to Punjab through Satluj river.

Kang also urged the Union government to sanction a special grant for the rejuvenation of the canal system in the state and save the farmers of Punjab and farming.

Punjab and Haryana failed to reach consensus on this contentious issue pf SYL during the meeting called by the Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on Wednesday with With Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann maintaining the state ‘does not have even a single drop of water to share and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar demanding his state’s share of water from Punjab through construction of SYL canal.