Meeting with Punjab will serve no purpose of getting SYL water share, says Haryana ex-CM Hooda

Chandigarh, July 8 (IANS) A day ahead of the meeting called by the Central government over the issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said the state BJP government should file a contempt of court case as holding a meeting would serve no purpose of getting rightful share of water.

Responding to the fourth round of meeting between the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Hooda said the BJP government should now go beyond these meetings as the Supreme Court's decision came in favour of Haryana a long time ago.

"The court had given the responsibility of providing Haryana's share of water to the Central government. The BJP government is both in Haryana and at the Centre. In such a situation, Haryana should have got its share of water by now. But due to BJP's anti-Haryana attitude, this could not happen. Now if the government is talking about it, then it should directly file a contempt of court case,” the two-time Chief Minister said.

Answering questions from the media, he said the BJP government has once again "failed" to provide fertilisers to the farmers on time.

"Once again, farmers are forced to leave their farms and work and stand in never-ending long queues. Due to the non-availability of DAP, farmers are wandering around helplessly, and there is a threat of damage to the crops," Hooda said.

Expressing concern over the shortage of DAP, Hooda said the farmers have been facing double the brunt of the BJP's double-engine government both at the Centre and in the state.

"Less than half the stock of fertilisers to be received by Haryana from the Centre. Haryana is supposed to get about 14 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers, but the situation clearly shows that not even half the fertilisers have been made available yet," he pointed out.

"That is why, despite waiting in queues from morning to evening, farmers are having to return empty-handed. Every time during the season, the government deliberately creates a situation where farmers are forced to take to the streets and protest," he added.

--IANS

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