Addressing a ‘Punjab Bachao’ rally in the Shahkot assembly constituency of Jalandhar on Friday, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal called chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s demand for water royalty from Rajasthan a “knee-jerk reaction” to his own announcement that if elected to power, their government would not allow water into the Rajasthan canal.
He claimed that Mann only recently realised the injustice done to Punjab due to river water being diverted to Rajasthan and accused the CM of failing to act on a 2016 Vidhan Sabha resolution—passed under the SAD government—which demanded water royalties from Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.
He added that the Akali Dal is committed for correcting the “historical wrong done to Punjab by the Congress which gave away half of state rivers’ water to Rajasthan”.
He accused the CM of showing apathy towards potato farmers who are being forced to dump their crops. “The SAD demands the government to intervene and direct Markfed to lift the potato crop on reserved prices to stop distress selling,” Sukhbir said.
He also accused AAP leaders of giving shelter to drug peddlers after an “AAP sarpanch” was arrested with 4-kg of heroin.
He also accused the CM of lying on investment received by the state during AAP tenure. “Mann had claimed that Punjab had got an investment of ₹1.50 lakh crore during the last four years even as RTI information had revealed that Punjab received an investment of only ₹2,600 crore,” he added.
