Once in power, will levy tax on water sharing: LIP

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 24

A day after staging a protest at the Grain Market in Patiala on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal digging issue, Lok Insaaf Party supremo Simarjit Bains today said once in power they would levy tax on the water being shared with Rajasthan and Haryana.

While the fate of candidates hangs fire till March 11, the Lok Insaaf Party, an ally of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is claiming that the alliance will register a win over 80 seats in the Assembly elections.

“Water should be sold to other states after the need of Punjab’s farmers is sated. The state is under heavy debt and charging tax on water sharing will substantially decrease the liability. All states have put a price tag on their natural resources and enjoy subsidies from the Central Government,” said LIP Bains. Munish Vinayak, spokesperson for the LIP, said the party would push an ordinance for levying charges on the water being shared with other states, if it came to power. He said Simarjit and elder brother Balwinder Bains had earlier presented a proposal before the Vidhan Sabha, but the ruling SAD-BJP government paid no heed to it.

Terming the symbolic digging of the defunct Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) by the Indian National Lok Dal’s (INLD) a fixed match, party supremo Simarjit Bains said the INLD was raking the issue keeping in mind the next Assembly elections.

“INLD leaders wanted to create hype. Their entire protest turned out to be a political stunt,” said Bains.

Bains, along with his supports, had marched towards the SYL canal at Kapuri village located on the Punjab-Haryana border. However, they were stopped by the police. Later, they staged a protest at the Grain Market in Patiala.