amarinder singh
Singh sent his resignation to the Lok Sabha speaker while the other Punjab Congress MLAs sent their resignations to the PPCC chief as a sign of protest against the verdict of the apex court.IANS

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal On Thursday said that the state would not release water to any other state and that the government would do everything possible to ensure the same following the Supreme Court declaring the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004, passed by the state government invalid.

Badal added that advocates would advise on what legal steps could be taken to challenge the judgement. 

"Our main aim is to not let the water go and we will do anything for that. I want to assure the people of Punjab that only we can do this and that the resignation in Congress is just a drama. Punjab ka paani kahin nahi jayega, nahin jayega aur nahin jayega," the Punjab CM said.

President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Captain Amarinder Singh, along with all MLAs of the Congress party in the state, have resigned as a sign of protest against the SC verdict.

The Act is related to the sharing of waters of the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers among states, including Punjab and Haryana.

Singh sent his resignation to the Lok Sabha speaker while the other Punjab Congress MLAs sent their resignations to the PPCC chief as a sign of protest against the verdict of the apex court.

All MLAs have resigned and will go the assembly tomorrow, and I have sent my resignation to the speaker. I am very disappointed and sad for Punjab because of this verdict. He (Badal) will know who is doing drama when the elections come, he keeps on saying unimportant stuff. I have been saying this for long that he must retire, let somebody else come," Singh told ANI when asked to comment on the verdict and Badal's allegation that his resignation is just a "drama". 

Badal had also said that the Opposition had never worked for the welfare of the nation or the state of Punjab.

The constitution bench headed by Justice AR Dave had previously reserved the verdict in May following the Centre's stand that the states involved in the matter must settle their disputes among themselves, the Tribune reported. The Centre had said that it would remain neutral in the matter.

The Punjab Assembly had passed a law to return the land acquired for the construction of Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal on its side while the Haryana Assembly had moved SC that ordered to maintain the status quo.

The Shiromani Akali Dal also held a meeting on Wednesday to decide its course of action in case the verdict goes against Punjab's interests, the daily reported.

Punjab CM Badal had previously said that the state government had the right to demand a royalty from riparian states for utilising its waters in case the SC verdict went against the state's interests. He added that states, like Rajasthan and Bihar, among others, were also doing the same in the case of utilisation of mineral resources.

The MLAs at the Haryana Vidhan Sabha had lashed out at Badal by passing a resolution condemning his statement that Haryana would not be given even a drop of the river waters for the SYL canal irrespective of what the SC verdict is.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal had said, a few hours before the verdict, that he would not let anyone enter the state if the court's decision was against Punjab.

"Won't let anyone enter Punjab when somebody wants to take our lifeline. Water is life for people of Punjab. Let any government come, be it that of the US or Iraq to take away waters from us, we won't let them take even a drop of water from Punjab," Sukhbir had said.

"It's a drama created by the Congress. Capt Amarinder started all this drama. Why are they resigning from the government at a time when their term is going to be over? And why are they resigning only from the government? They should resign from the party since it's the ex-PM of their party who has got this done. It's a drama created by the Congress," he added lashing out at Congress for resigning.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has welcomed the apex court's verdict while the Shiromani Akali Dal has strongly opposed it.

"For Punjab SYL is not just an emotive issue but a matter of survival as Punjab is an agrarian state. Our stand on the SYL issue is clear that we won't allow a single drop of water as it is the lifeline of our farmers," Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted.

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