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Haryana threatens to stop trains from Punjab

By Rajesh Ahuja

CHANDIGARH, JULY 14. Political parties of various hues are trying to outbid each other in criticising the Amarinder Singh regime in Punjab and are threatening to launch dharnas and even stop movement of trains and vehicles coming from Punjab into Haryana. On the other hand, the Congress leadership in the State is caught in a cleft stick as the Congress is the ruling party in Punjab. Though the leaders in Haryana are criticising the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act which annuls all water-sharing agreements with the neighbouring States, they also go on the defensive by saying that Punjab is "protecting its interests''.

The Haryana Vikas Party and the Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party have threatened to launch separate agitations which would include holding of dharnas at district headquarters and stopping of vehicles and trains going to and from Punjab. Reports reaching the State Headquarters said that mobs allegedly deflated tyres of buses at a few places in Jind and Ambala.

The ball has virtually shifted to New Delhi with the Chief Minister, Om Parkash Chautala, having a late night tete-a-tete with the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to resolve the impasse created by the Punjab Government. A delegation of Congress MPs from Haryana, including Bhupinder Singh Hooda, also met the Prime Minister and pleaded for "justice'' for Haryana.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chautala today asserted that Haryana would approach the Supreme Court to get the Act nullified. Speaking at Shahabad-Markanda he warned that "if necessary, the people of the State would not hesitate to take to the roads to get their share of water''. He said Dr. Manmohan Singh had assured him that the interests of Haryana would be fully protected. Mr. Hooda, speaking on behalf of the MPs, told The Hindu that they had emphasised the importance of the SYL canal to Haryana which perenially faced drought-like conditions and asserted that Haryana was only seeking its due share in the river waters. The Act passed by Punjab was "unconstitutional'' and had been brought in a hurry to create hurdles in the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict. Punjab could not annul the water-sharing agreements at this juncture just to circumvent the implementation of the verdict of the apex Court which has directed the Centre to get the remaining portion of the SYL canal constructed by a Central agency.

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