Indian government's River Water War against the Sikhs
Is Punjab's Amrinder Singh government drunk or sleeping?
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - The Indian Supreme Court in Delhi, 'overflowing' with prejudiced Hindutva-fuundamentalist, anti-Sikh judges, one female and one male, yesterday asked non-riparian Hindu-majority state of Haryana to specify a plan of action, within three weeks, for the completion of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in the territory of Punjab.This Brahmanical conspiracy, if it succeeds, will syphon, nay steal, the Sikh Homeland's precious rivers water thus denying it to future generations of Punjab which farming state is already facing falling water tables and experienced a draught last year. For a backgrounder please read, "India's Water war with the Sikhs" by clicking at: www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2003/january15.aspx
Senior advocate Vinod Bobde, who appeared for the non-riparian, Hindu-majority state of Haryana in the Supreme Court yesterday, sought a direction by the court, to the Union Government, for completing the SYL canal contending that, "it (the Central government) was duty-bound to implement the court’s directive after Punjab had failed to execute its previous order within the stipulated one year deadline period."
Advocte Vinod Bobde said that, the Supreme court, in its January 15, 2001 order on a Haryanas suit, (Mr. Justice G. B. Pattanaik and Ms. Justice Ruma Pal) had issued expressly a two-part direction - (i) Punjab should execute the project by Junuary 15, 2002, and if it failed to do so (ii) the Centre will take steps to complete the job. "Since the first part of direction had become redundant after Punjab filed a counter suit expressing its inability to complete the project, the onus was now entirely on the Centre to start the work," Mr Bobde said. For a bacground click at: www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/january23.aspx
Haryanas counsel, Vinod Bobde, further told the court that, "since the Central government in its reply, filed earlier, (?) had stated that it was willing to complete the SYL canal in the territory of Punjab, there should be no difficulty in issuing a direction to it." The Haryana counsel further argued that, "as the Centre had taken no further steps to start the work on the unfinished SYL canal project, on which over Rs 700 crore had been spent, a direction is required to be issued to it to nominate an agency for completing the work, otherwise such a huge amount of money would go down the drain."
A bench of the Supreme Court, comprising, Mr Justice P.V. Reddi and (the bigoted and corrupt lady judge who started the whole mischief on January 15, 2001) Ms Justice Ruma Pal heard the above arguments by Haryana's counsel Vinod Bhave' in that non-riparian state's suit against the Centre and Punjab seeking completion of the controversial SYL canal as per the January 15, 2001, order of the Supreme court. The bench, describing the projected Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal as an issue of great national interest directed the Haryana Government to amend its prayer in the suit seeking construction of the canal by the Centre in the territory of Punjab, which had failed to implement the apex court order of January 2001, and in this regard. Ms. Justice Ruma Pal commented that, "the Haryana Government needs to spell out the action plan it wants to be executed by the Centre in clear terms so that a specific direction could be issued to the Union Government".
The court also said that, "there was a technical difficulty in issuing a direction to the Centre because in a suit any decree had to be executed through a lower court but in this case, there was no question of executing a decree." and, therefore, Haryana state was asked by the court to specify a plan of action, within three weeks, for the completion of the project 'as an ad hoc policy must be given up in dealing with important issues like this'. Haryana need not have hired counsel Vinod Bobde to represent the Hindu-majority state as the bigoted lady judge Ms. Justice Rume Pal was more 'royalist than the king.'' It is obvious that a conspiracy - a 'Nura Kushti' - is unfolding at the Indian Supreme Court as justice has gone out the window where Sikhs are concerned!
Indian media reports of the Supreme Court happening yesterday make no mention of the presence of any cousel representing and defending the interest of Punjab. We hope the lush Congress party Chief minister Amrinder 'Patiala' Singh was not slumbering and his counsels did not miss the Supreme court date yesterday. However, earlier this year there were media reports that Punjab state had filed a suit in the Indian Supreme Court, on January 13, 2003, (under Article 131 of the Indian Constitution and Section 3 of the Inter State Water Disputes Act, 1956) which complaint challenged the January 15, 2002 illegal order by a bench of two corrupt and bigoted Hindu judges, Mr. Justice G. B. Patnaik, since retired, and his cohort Ms. Justice Roma Pal, who had ordered Punjab state to complete the disputed SYL (Sutlej-Yumna Link) canal within a year. What happened to that January 13, 2003, Supreme Court suite by the Punjab government? Where is the, "strong legal team led by Punjab Advocate-General and which includes eminent jurist and legal luminaries like Mr Fali S. Nariman, Senior Advocate and Mr Anil B. Divan, Senior Advocate", that was paraded in January this year by the Punjab government?" Were they present in the Supreme Court yesterday?
The Punjab government suite dated January 13, 2003, had sought 'Justice on river waters distribution' and had also requested the Supreme court to discharge, "Punjab state from the obligation to construct the Sutlej-Yumna Link (SYL) canal" which will divert Ravi/Beas river waters to the surplus Yumna river basin. The Punjab government suit, nor any media report, mentioned the fact that the river waters is a provincial subject under the Indian Constitution and the Supreme Court, nor any of its judges, have any right whatsoever to obligate Punjab to commit suicide by rebuiding the SYL canal which will carry Sikh Punjab's life-giving river water to non-riparian Hindu-majority Haryana state free of charge.
In the past we have dedicated this column to this vital SYL issue sixteen times which can be read by clicking on the 'Sikh Corner' on the front page of the very popular South Asia Tribune website (at: > http://www.satribune.com/index.htm <) and then scrolling down to the archives if you want to study this issue in detail. OR, you could click on the following links to sixteen Khalistan Calling's we have dedicated to the SYL canal issue in the past few years:-
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/january23.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/december04.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/october23.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/september11.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/september04.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/august07.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/july31.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/july24.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/march27.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/february06.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2002/january23.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2001/september05.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2001/august21.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2001/june20.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/1999/april14.aspx
www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/1999/march17.aspx
The Sutlej-Yumna Link canal - if it is completed - will syphon Sikh-majority Punjab's Ravi/Beas river water and carry it to the surplus Yumna river basin located in non-riparian Hindu-majority Haryana state. This transfer/theft of Ravi/Beas river waters is obviously a matter of life and death for the Sikhs in the Punjab, their children and their children, specially for the farmers of water-short Southern Punjab districts of Ferozepore, Faridkot, Muktsar, Moga and parts of Sangrur, Mansa and Bathinda where nine hundred thousand acres of fertile farmlands will become a desert. Let us hope the Punjab government under the Congress party's Amrinder Singh regime can muster all Punjabis of all shades to thwart this conspiracy which is unfolding in the Supreme Court.