Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was committed to correcting the “historical injustices” inflicted on Punjab by what he termed the “parties of Delhi”, accusing them of denying the state its own capital, excluding Punjabi-speaking areas during reorganisation and diverting a significant share of its river waters.
Addressing a rally in Faridkot as part of the party’s Punjab Bachao campaign, he said Punjab remained the only state in the country without its own capital. He alleged the Congress had favoured Haryana during the reorganisation of the state and excluded several Punjabi-speaking areas despite the linguistic basis of the exercise.
He alleged nearly half of Punjab’s riverwaters were “arbitrarily” allocated to Rajasthan in violation of the riparian principle.
Badal criticised attempts to complete the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal, alleging the project would divert Punjab’s remaining water to Haryana. “Had the canal been completed earlier, Punjab would have turned into a desert,” he claimed.
Chandigarh: The SAD has approached theHigh Court against the alleged illegal election of the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Mansa block samiti.
The party’s chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said the AAP government was trying to capture the local bodies by misusing the administration.
Of 25 members of the samiti, SAD had 12 members. Two independents had joined the SAD. The election was scheduled for March 14. “All 14 members reached the venue in Mansa and their attendance was recorded by the ADC. They were taken to a small room in the building of zila parishad and locked,” he alleged