Parkash Singh Badal to meet President Mukherjee on SYL canal issue

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has sought time from President Pranab Mukherjee as the state government decided in the cabinet meeting on Thursday night that entire Council of Ministers would meet the President to request him not to accept the verdict of the Supreme Court about water distribution and construction of Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal.

In the letter written to President Mukherjee, Badal said that the Punjab Government respects the court and the Constitution.

In the letter, it is noted that Punjab has constitutional and legitimate right on its waters. The Chief Minister said water is lifeline of everybody and Punjab's agricultural land will go barren without water and industry will also be affected.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) sources said the government wants to meet the President before the Special Session of Punjab assembly convened on 16th of this month to discuss the situation in the wake of the verdict.

Congress will not participate in the session as all its 42 MLAs have submitted their resignation to the Speaker yesterday.

The Supreme Court's verdict on the SYL canal on Thursday came as a huge setback to the Punjab Government, as it set aside Punjab government's order repealing water sharing agreement with Haryana.

The apex court ruled that the legislations passed by the Punjab Government on the SYL canal dispute stood null and void as a bilateral agreement couldn't be tampered with by one party alone.