CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government is contemplating moving the Supreme Court to challenge Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, as well as seek a legal opinion about the validity of the Rajiv-Longowal Accord of 1985.

This was announced by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in a statement issued to the media, ostensibly to explain his stance in the State Assembly where during a verbal duel with the Leader of the Opposition, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, he disclosed that the Government proposed to file another case to defend the State's claims on river waters.

The House, which assembled for the first time after the recent elections, was later adjourned sine die.

According to the statement, Mr. Badal after assuming office reviewed the entire issue of Punjab's rights to river waters and directed the Advocate-General to consult leading legal and constitutional experts of the country to take all legal steps in the matter, including challenging Section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which deals with apportionment of the river waters.

Mr. Badal said he had also sought the opinion of the Advocate-General to examine the present legal validity of the Memorandum of Understanding on Punjab, known as Rajiv-Longowal Accord, especially in view of the fact that it had already been violated by the then Congress Government at the Centre by not transferring Chandigarh to Punjab on January 26, 1986.

The statement said the issue of abrogating Section 5 of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, has also been referred to the Advocate-General for exploring all legal options available to the State. This was done because the matter is already pending before the Supreme Court.

Mr. Badal's statement came in response to the offensive stance adopted by Ms. Bhattal, who during Zero Hour drew attention to a news item saying the Punjab Government had informed the Supreme Court that there was no proposal to repeal Section 5 of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004. She said this was contrary to the promises made by the Akali Dal in its manifesto for the recent elections in the State.

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