Punjab: CM Bhagwant Mann Criticises Opposition Leaders, Cites Ancestral 'Sins' in SYL Canal Dispute

Chandigarh: Under flak from opposition over the vexed Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday hit back asking the top opposition leaders of Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP not to forget what he referred to as the 'sins of their ancestors' before shedding crocodile tears over the issue.

Accusing Congress leaders Partap Singh Bajwa, the leader of the opposition, and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, the state party president, as well as SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal and BJP Chief Sunil Jakhar of engaging in 'theatrics to mislead the people of the state,' Mann stated that it was a well-known fact that the ancestors of these leaders had 'sown thorns in the path of Punjab and its younger generations by engaging in the unpardonable crime of constructing the SYL canal.'

Mann dares opposition to bring the papers of settlement of SYL

The chief minister alleged that these leaders, for the sake of their vested interests, had agreed, planned, and executed the construction of the SYL canal. Mann stated that everyone knew that former Union Minister Balram Jakhar (father of Sunil Jakhar), along with Capt Amarinder Singh, had accompanied the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to perform the ground-breaking ceremony of the SYL canal at village Kapuri.

Similarly, Mann pointed out that former Chief Minister of Haryana, Devi Lal, had praised his then counterpart in Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, for allowing the survey of this canal.

He dared the opposition leaders to bring the papers of settlement, which their parents had signed for the sake of acquiring power, to the open debate event on state issues scheduled for November 1. He urged them to openly discuss these documents that had deceived the state and its people.