Congress, INLD term SC verdict on SYL 'historic'

The Haryana Congress and INLD today termed the Supreme Court verdict on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue as "historic and a victory for the people of the state".
"A historic and path-breaking verdict by the Supreme Court upholds Haryana's claim on SYL issue. It is a victory for the people and justice for Haryana," he said.
Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi claimed SYL was (former Haryana CM) Bhajan Lal's dream.
"Would he (Lal) have been alive today, he would have been the happiest person, as 98 per cent construction of SYL canal was completed during his tenure," he said.
Meanwhile, senior INLD leader and MLA Abhay Singh Chautala termed the decision "as historic and victory for the people of Haryana."

"We now hope parched lands of Haryana will get their due share of water," he said.

However, the INLD leader accused the BJP and Congress of indulging in "double-speak" on the issue.
"National leaders of both parties should clarify their stand on the issue. They must make it clear whether they were actually with the people or were indulging in mere politics," he said.
Chautala demanded a special session of the Haryana Assembly should be convened so that the parties can clear their stand.
"It was the efforts of the then Haryana government, led by Om Prakash Chautala, the verdict is in the state's favour," he claimed.

Punjab suffered a serious setback with the Supreme Court holding as "unconstitutional" the 2004 law passed by it to terminate the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water sharing agreement with neighbouring states.
The apex court judgment termed the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 as "unconstitutional" and said Punjab could not have taken a "unilateral" decision to terminate the water sharing agreement with Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.