The Supreme Court of India has directed the governments of Punjab and Haryana to cooperate with the Centre in finding an amicable solution to the long-standing dispute over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. The court deemed the de-notification of land acquired for the canal in Punjab an "act of high-handedness" and emphasized the need to consider "wider ramifications" beyond legal considerations. The court has set August 13 for a further hearing if an amicable solution is not reached.
SYL has been a contentious issue between the two states with the Punjab portion of the canal still incomplete.
The Haryana assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution seeking the completion of the SYL canal and the transfer of Hindi-speaking areas from Punjab, while denouncing the neighbouring state for staking its claim over Chandigarh.
Amarinder, who is also former Punjab Chief Minister, has sent his resignation to the Lok Sabha Speaker, copy of which was released to the media here, and has also sought a personal meeting with the Speaker next week.
Upholding its earlier order of June 4 this year, a Bench comprising Justice Ruma Pal and Justice P V Reddy, dismissed the review petition saying it had no merit.
The land shall forthwith vest with the original owners, their lineal descendants or legal representatives, "free-of- cost", he said.
42 MLAs, including leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi, went to the assembly and submitted their resignations.
In an unprecedented development, MLAs of opposition Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana on Thursday virtually stormed the assembly of neighbouring Punjab to protest against a move that could stall construction of a canal by which Haryana is supposed to receive water.
The counsel for Punjab told a bench headed by Justice SK Kaul that the state government is very keen to resolve the issue amicably.
Jatana had killed two government officials supervising the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal in 1990.
The five-time former Punjab chief minister died at a private hospital in Mohali near Chandigarh on Tuesday, nine days after he was admitted there with breathing problems. He was 95.
Haryana wanted expeditious construction of the part of the Satluj-Yamuna Link canal that falls within the territory of Punjab.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is Leader of the House, moved a resolution in the assembly saying that his state is facing "crisis of water" and does not have even one drop to share with others.
Supreme Court's ruling favouring Haryana on the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal issue has set political temperature soaring in Punjab, with the state Congress chief Amarinder Singh quitting as Member of Parliament and all MLAs following suit, as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asserted "not a drop of water" will be allowed to be taken out of the state.
The Supreme Court directed the chief secretaries of the states and the Union government to file their written submissions within six weeks.
The Indian Express reports that the Punjab CM had not consulted either the PM or Congress chief Sonia Gandhi before terminating all agreements relating to sharing of waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers with Haryana and Rajasthan.
Amarinder Singh failed spectacularly in these assembly elections -- his new party failed to open its account, his ally BJP fell flat and he failed to even win his own constituency.
Singh, 80, had floated the PLC last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister, but his party failed to win any seat in the state assembly polls.
Thursday's judgement implies that the 2004 Act was not in consonance with the apex court judgement of 2003 which had mandated the construction of the SYL canal that has been stalled.
The duo were planning targeted killings in various north Indian states on the directions of Khalistan movement leaders sponsored by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, they said.
Haryana government said it is committed to construction of Satluj-Yamuna Link and has urged the Centre to seek early hearing on the matter.
Punjab politics has produced a dog's breakfast on the river waters issue. Except, you'd see even dogs eat better, says Shekhar Gupta.
AAP is working on its new strategy to build a strong organisational set-up with leaders from all sections of society, reports Nitin Kumar.
The 79-year-old widely respected and popular leader steered the Congress in 2017 to a landslide victory in the 117-member assembly to occupy the chief minister's post for the second time.
'While Kejriwal has lost his credibility due to his failure in Delhi, Captain Amarinder Singh is dancing on the tune of his image managers.'
A day after Haryana's Irrigation Minister Om Prakash Dhankar virtually refused to supply water to Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that there should be no politics over water.
The shoe, however, missed its target and the youth was nabbed.
Capt Amarinder lambasted Badal for the alleged growing incidents of sacrilege in the state, which he said was a clear attempt by the Akalis to divide Punjab on communal lines.
It also pledged to give interest free crop loan of up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers.
"They have produced stale news. This is two years ago when there were differences in the Congress and I said I will form my own party. Where is the question of joining the BJP? I think there are too many channels and there is too little news," he said.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that government will introduce teaching of Bhagavad Gita in schools across the state from coming academic session.
The assembly polls are seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation.
The high-voltage campaign for the February 4 assembly elections in Punjab came to an end on Thursday evening following hectic campaigning by various political parties.
One cannot but infer that this brouhaha is a crafty ploy to create an issue out of a non-issue. An overview of post-independent India's history reveals that it is not the BJP or the Sangh Parivar but Marxist historians who have been guilty of debasing history to suit their vested interests, says Vivek Gumaste.
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