CHANDIGARH: With Punjab Assembly elections just 14 months away and fearing political backlash, the BJP-led Union Government made a U-turn by cancelling the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Gang Canal, which had been scheduled for today at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur. The canal carries water from Punjab to parts of Rajasthan, and the event was considered politically sensitive. This marks the fourth reversal in a little over a month by the Centre in order to avoid further controversy.
Sources said Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Member of Parliament from Bikaner, had landed at Amritsar International Airport on Thursday evening en route to Ferozepur. However, he did not leave the terminal and instead boarded a return flight after reportedly being asked to return. According to sources, the decision was taken because holding the event risked unrest, with farmers and political parties preparing protests against the celebrations. Senior Punjab BJP leaders had also alerted the central leadership that proceeding with the event could “turn sour” for the party in the state.
“Already the intelligence agencies had warned that Meghwal’s visit might lead to protests once news of the function became public late yesterday,’’ said an official.
Punjab BJP leader Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, formerly with the Congress, had been organising the event at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district, where the canal originates. For many Punjabis, the mention of the Gang Canal reopens a century-old wound. Sources said top state leaders of the saffron party had instructed the central leadership that the state unit should not be associated with the event.
"The party has nothing to do with this program, as the interests of the state are paramount, it was an individual event organised by Rana Sodhi. We told the central leadership how this can backfire for the party in the state, and thus the minister was then accordingly instructed by the centre to return. We are grateful that the centre understood the sensitivity of the issue well in time, as the Gang Canal is a contentious issue in Punjab due to water sharing concern," said a senior party leader on condition of anonymity.
Despite repeated attempts, Rana Sodhi was not available for comment.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa had already condemned the BJP for its "insensitive and politically provocative" decision to celebrate the centenary of the Gang Canal from Punjab's soil. "The BJP has once again demonstrated its disconnect from Punjab's history and the emotions of its people," he said.
Bajwa reminded that the Gang Canal was constructed by the British in the early 20th century, primarily to appease the Maharaja of Bikaner, whose loyalty to the British Crown was rewarded through generous allocations of Punjab's river waters. "To organise a celebratory event on Punjab's land is nothing short of reopening these painful wounds," he said.
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, "Punjab’s water crisis cannot be papered over with staged events and speeches. The BJP is glorifying a canal that historically drained Punjab’s waters, while our fields remain parched. We are not against acknowledging history, but against hypocrisy. First, safeguard Punjab’s water rights, fix the canal system, stop water theft, and ensure clean water for every farmer only then celebrate."
The Gang Canal project, inaugurated on December 5, 1925 and named after Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, was built to address famine and irrigation issues in the Bikaner region. Stretching 1,398 kilometers including distributaries, the canal runs along the northeastern Indo-Pak border and remains a vital water source for both regions.
This is not the first reversal by the Union Government in the recent past. Earlier, it withdrew the notification regarding the Panjab University senate and syndicate polls, clarified that no final decision had been taken on the proposed bill to include Chandigarh under Article 240 (which would allow the President to appoint a separate Lieutenant Governor for the Union Territory), and rejected the Haryana government’s proposal to construct a separate Assembly building in Chandigarh.