‘Chandigarh Belongs To Punjab, Next Big Battle With Haryana Over River Waters’: Navjot Singh Sidhu

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday said Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and will always remain so and predicted that its “next big battle” with Haryana will be over river waters.

Sidhu’s comments came after recent remarks by Haryana leaders demanding the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal for getting the state's river water share from Punjab. They have also sought the transfer of 400 Hindi-speaking villages to Haryana.

The Haryana government has summoned a special session of the assembly here on Tuesday, days after the Punjab assembly passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the AAP-ruled state.

The Union Territory of Chandigarh is the common capital of Punjab and Haryana. 

“Built on 27 villages of Punjab, Chandigarh belonged to Punjab and will remain so,” he tweeted in Hindi.

“Kahin pe nigahein, kahin pe nishana,” Sidhu tweeted, suggesting that the real target for Haryana was not Chandigarh, but the river waters.

“Chandigarh is just an excuse, the target is Punjab’s river waters. Beware the next big battle is for the river waters of Punjab,” he said.

Sidhu, who lost during the recent Punjab assembly elections from Amritsar East, also tagged AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar with his tweet.   

The SYL canal issue has been a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana for several decades.

In the past, Punjab had been demanding a reassessment of its share of the Ravi-Beas river waters while Haryana had been seeking completion of the SYL canal to get its share of 3.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of water. 

The Punjab government's move to bring a resolution in the state assembly came in the wake of the Centre's announcement that the Central Service Rules will apply to the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.(With PTI inputs)