Election-time itch

Rattled by the latest Supreme Court advisory to the President, the Punjab Government has denotified the SYL land for the second time in eight months, exercising executive powers. The earlier legislative effort was thwarted by the Governor who did not give consent to the Bill passed. Opposition cooperation, available then, was missing now as the Congress dubbed it “political gimmickry” and stayed away from the Assembly session which passed a resolution against the construction of the SYL Canal and in favour of collecting a cess from the states using river waters passing through Punjab.

Citizens as well as political leaders understand that inter-state disputes cannot be settled through unilateral action. The 2004 water agreement termination Act was passed with fanfare; but Capt Amarinder Singh did not get the expected political mileage in the ensuing election despite a massive show of misplaced boldness. That presumably bold action, in fact, delayed efforts towards an acceptable solution as Punjab was dragged to a needless, costly legal battle. This time fortunately the Governor put his foot down, denying Chief Minister Badal a chance to go on a similar legislative misadventure. Irrational remedies Badal is trying these days are bound to be challenged in court. Punjab has lost thrice in the Supreme Court despite having a strong case on its water rights. 

As expected, Haryana plans to move the Supreme Court for SYL Canal construction and an NGO has filed a contempt plea against Badal. It remains to be seen whether the Centre helps Badal gain political martyrdom he is seeking by doing what appeals to sentiment more than reason. Months before the Supreme Court ruling he had been trying to work up passions with disappointing results. It will be clear only after the 2017 elections whether people see him as a protector of Punjab waters or a dated politician trying old tricks. Political parties in Punjab are divided on SYL. At the end, solutions have to be workable and agreeable, in compliance with the established constitutional, judicial and democratic norms, not the ones that pit one state and its people against the other.