New Delhi: Amid the water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said the state must receive its “rightful” share and that it has maintained a “neutral” stance over the issue so far.
In an interview with ThePrint, Sukhu said while the “wealth”, referring to the water, belongs to Himachal Pradesh, it is Haryana and Punjab fighting over it. “Look, the issue of water has come up. Where does the water come from? Who is fighting? It comes from Himachal Pradesh. The wealth belongs to Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab and Haryana are fighting.”
“We, the people of Himachal Pradesh, go to them [Punjab and Haryana] with folded hands and request them that the water which is our wealth, from which electricity is being produced,” he said, arguing, “Give some rights to the people of Himachal Pradesh.”
Last month, a row erupted after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab refused Haryana’s request to share more water through the Bhakra-Nangal dam operations on the Sutlej river. The water is shared between Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. The BJP-led Haryana government has been critical of Punjab’s decision.
“But both of them are our brothers,” said Sukhu. “Now, in their fight in Punjab and Haryana, we have kept our role neutral. Punjab is our brother, Haryana is our brother, and all the citizens living in this country are our family members. On how to reach a consensus—this should be decided by the central government.”
On the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April, Sukhu had said terror has no religion. Referring to the terrorists checking people’s religion before shooting them, he said, “This does not point to any religion, it points to their mentality that they want to threaten the unity and integrity of the country by strengthening the roots of terrorism in this country. The government should give a befitting reply.”
In the early hours of Wednesday, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Following the operation, Sukhu said to the media, “We are proud of the action of the Indian Army. All three wings of the army have taken precise and successful action by building pressure. For this, we congratulate the Indian Army and stand firmly with them.”
In the wake of the Pahalgam incident, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reached out to Sukhu personally and deputed a minister to Himachal for the “well-being of the Kashmiri students” after some students from the state were allegedly attacked in parts of the country, the Himachal CM said.
“Kashmiris are our own people, and we will do everything for their welfare and well-being. As far as Himachal Pradesh is concerned, no incident has been reported, and we will ensure nothing happens in the future too. Strict action will be taken if any incident is reported,” he added.
When asked about reports of in-fighting within the Congress state unit and party workers feeling demoralised by the long delay in restructuring, Sukhu said, it was the BJP which is facing in-fighting.
“BJP is the main opposition party, and it is their responsibility to speak about everything, but they end up overreacting at times. And through the media, they try to set such narratives that everything is not okay within the government,” he said.
“The BJP in Himachal itself is divided into five factions. [J.P.] Nadda ji is the national president, he has his own small faction, Jai Ram [Thakur] ji has his own faction, Anurag Thakur has his own faction, and the nine people who have gone from here [defected from Congress to the BJP in the state] have their own faction.”
He further said, “If a worker says something, then that matter is taken seriously, but that does not mean that it becomes a political issue.”
Sukhu was reacting to a heated party meeting in Bilaspur last week, when party workers clashed with each other, in the presence of Congress state president Pratibha Singh, and alleged neglect by the government as well as the party.
Himachal Pradesh’s state unit has remained without formal district or block-level leadership for several months, which has led to growing discontent among workers, especially ahead of the panchayat and municipal elections in December this year.
Sukhu said he doesn’t think that the party is unstable, “I believe that we will complete 5 years, and I am not among those politicians who think that we will just hold on to the chair. We have not come to power for the comforts of power; we have come to change the system.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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