The Congress in Punjab seems to believe that the Supreme Court verdict in the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal case is a godsend to capture power. The resignation of 42 Congress MLAs to protest against what it calls the failure of the Akali Dal-BJP government to protect the state’s interests is wholly aimed at winning the 2017 elections. Punjab Congress party chief and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh saw in the verdict a stick to beat his rivals with. He is so confident that he has even announced his resignation from the Lok Sabha, a decision which did not find favour with six other party MPs.
What is forgotten in all this is that it is the Congress which is responsible for the verdict of the five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court which went against Punjab. At stake was a Bill passed by the Punjab Assembly unilaterally abrogating an agreement on sharing the waters of the Sutlej. This followed the Indus water treaty agreement signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 under which Pakistan would have the waters of Ravi and Beas once they reach its territory. The agreement sought to meet the water needs of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.
A canal had to be built to facilitate sharing of water. While Haryana built it, Punjab abandoned the construction so much so that the deadline for the completion of SYL project expired long ago. When Congress was in power in Punjab, it passed a Bill in 2004 which said that it would not honour the agreement. The Bill did not receive the governor’s assent and the present verdict is the result of a reference made to the apex court by the President. Meanwhile, Punjab also denotified the land acquired for construction. It claims that there is not enough water to share. It wants a tribunal to hear rival claims. If Punjab is united against the verdict, Haryana is all for it. What’s lacking is statesmanship to resolve the crisis.