Interacting with the media in Jammu on Friday, Abdullah asserted that Jammu and Kashmir should be allowed to use its waters first.
The Chief Minister was replying to a question on the Central government’s proposed construction of a 113-km canal to transfer surplus water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent it from flowing to neighbouring Pakistan.
“Right now, Jammu is facing water scarcity… There is no water in the taps. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has three rivers as per the Indus Water Treaty. Has Punjab given us any water,” he asked.
“We will use it (water) first, and only then consider others’ needs,” he added.
Reacting to Abdullah’s remarks, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Neel Garg accused the National Conference leader of deliberately politicising the water issue, saying the authority to decide on river waters lies with the Central government.
“Hence, Omar Abdullah cannot take a unilateral decision on this matter,” Garg said in a statement.
He also emphasised that Punjab needs water, and therefore, it should also get a share of the Indus River’s water.
“Now, it is the Centre’s responsibility to appropriately distribute the remaining water and give Punjab its rightful share,” he said.
Pointing out that Punjab is also a border state like Jammu and Kashmir, Garg said, “Whenever there is a war, Punjab becomes the battleground. And when the country needs foodgrains, it becomes the granary of the nation. Now that there is water available, Punjab has a legitimate claim over it.”
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said in a statement, “It is unbecoming of the J-K Chief Minister to make such remarks when the canals proposed to be constructed are meant to save water from flowing into Pakistan.”
Claiming that Abdullah was trying to “politicise the issue”, Warring said, “Where will you send the water and where will you divert the canals?”
Pointing out that Punjab would be the natural course of flow for the canals, Warring said Abdullah’s remarks “only smacks of partisan political rhetoric when the issue is very sensitive from the point of national interest”.
Moreover, he said, given the sensitivity of the matter, Abdullah should not have made such remarks and sounded discordant notes at this stage.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also targeted the J-K Chief Minister for his remarks. Former minister and senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said in a statement, “It is a historical fact that the then Indira Gandhi government did great injustice to Punjab by giving away a huge share of its river water to Rajasthan, a non-riparian state.”
“Every time it is Punjab which suffers the most. River waters were snatched from our state,” Cheema alleged.
He also accused Abdullah of attempting to do injustice to Punjab. Cheema said that while filling the food bowl of the country, Punjab has lost its ground water which has fallen to alarming levels.
The farmers of Punjab took huge debt on their shoulders to fulfil the food requirement of the country, he claimed.
Cheema also said that before issuing such statements, Abdullah should keep in mind the requirements of the farmers of Punjab and other states of the country.
