CHANDIGARH: A row has erupted after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah opposed the flow of water from the three rivers of the Indus system in Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, reminding the neighboring state of how it had “maltreated” J&K for years. Political parties in Punjab including the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal have hit back, saying it’s the responsibility of the Centre, which had put the Indus treaty in abeyance, to appropriately distribute the water and give Punjab its rightful share. Reacting to Omar Abdullah’s statement that J&K will not give water from the Indus river to Punjab, AAP Punjab spokesperson Neel Garg accused him of deliberately politicizing the issue.Garg said the authority to decide on river waters lies with the Centre and Omar Abdullah cannot take a unilateral decision on the matter. He emphasized that Punjab should also get a share of the Indus water.Garg pointed out that, like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab is also a border state. Whenever war occurs, Punjab becomes the battleground, and when the country needs food grains, it becomes the granary of the nation. Now that there is water available, Punjab has a legitimate claim over it.”In the process of filling the nation’s granaries, we have been deprived of our own water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been annulled, Punjab has the primary right over this water because it will not only bring relief to our barren lands but also boost our agriculture. When farmers prosper, the nation prospers,” he said.Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also criticized Omar, saying it was unbecoming of the JK CM to make such remarks. He regretted that Omar was now trying to politicize the issue and score some brownie points. “Where will you send the water and where will you divert the canals?” he asked, pointing out that Punjab would be the natural course of flow for the canals. He noted that the statement smacks of partisan political rhetoric.
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