JAIPUR: The agreement over Yamuna waters signed by the Rajasthan and Haryana Chief Ministers in Delhi on Monday has triggered a huge political row in Rajasthan.
While the ruling BJP has hailed the pact as a historic breakthrough that will bring Yamuna water to the parched Shekhawati region, the Opposition Congress has branded it a betrayal of Rajasthan's interests.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has alleged that the agreement violates the spirit of the original 1994 Yamuna water-sharing pact and compromises the state's rightful share of water.
Gehlot has also demanded that the provisions of the newly signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to be made public immediately.
After nearly 32 years of deadlock, Rajasthan and Haryana on Monday signed the implementation MoA for the 1994 Yamuna water-sharing agreement.
Chief Ministers Bhajan Lal Sharma and Nayab Singh Saini signed the document in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah after officials from both states finalised its provisions during a marathon meeting a day earlier.
Gehlot questioned why the contents of the new MoA had been kept secret despite directly affecting Rajasthan's interests.
He also alleged that an MoU signed on February 17, 2024, by the current BJP government was also withheld from the public until after the Lok Sabha elections and contained a clause giving Haryana priority to draw 24,000 cusecs of water before Rajasthan.
He argued that if similar provisions had been retained in the new agreement, they would violate the pro-rata distribution principle laid down in the original 1994 pact.
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra intensified the attack, alleging that the BJP government had 'mortgaged' Rajasthan's water rights.
He questioned why Rajasthan would reportedly receive water only during the monsoon months. He also questioned the allocation, which had allegedly been reduced from 1.19 BCM to 580 MCM. He also cast doubt if the agreement restricts the state's share to drinking water while claiming irrigation benefits for 1.05 lakh hectares in Shekhawati.
The Congress also demanded disclosure of the agreement's provisions on water allocation, cost-sharing and release protocols.
The BJP dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the agreement merely implements Rajasthan's long-pending entitlement under the 1994 pact.
State BJP president Madan Rathore credited Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for ending a three-decade stalemate.
Senior BJP leader Rajendra Rathore also accused the Congress of hypocrisy, recalling that the party had opposed sharing Yamuna water with other states during the Haryana Assembly elections.