- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Punjab does not have any right to unilaterally terminate water-sharing agreements with neighbouring states
- It said the Termination of Agreements Act 2004 stands null and void
- The verdict has already led to a political slugfest after all Congress MLAs in the Punjab Assembly resign
A day after Supreme Court held as "unconstitutional" the 2004 law passed by Punjab to terminate the SYL canal water sharing agreement, the Punjab said that a three-member legal team will critically examine the ruling and advice the government on this matter.
A legal team will study the judgement and examine it critically and then give some recommendations and advice to the state government. By tomorrow evening, we may be ready to advise the government on this matter.Ashok Aggarwal, Punjab Advocate General
"A legal team will study the judgement and examine it critically and then give some recommendations and advice to the state government," Punjab Advocate General Ashok Aggarwal said.
The team comprises Additional Advocate Generals--Kamal Sehgal, Vinod Bhardwaj and Rajat Khanna.
Punjab Congress to Meet President
Amarinder Singh said the party's state unit leaders, including MPs, will meet President Pranab Mukherjee in connection with the SYL issue.
Amarinder, Cong MLAs ‘Trying To Be Martyrs’
Terming the resignation of Amarinder Singh as a “drama to mislead the people”, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said if the Punjab Congress president were “sincere and honest” he would have announced not to contest Assembly polls.
The Chief Minister accused the Punjab Congress leadership of “playing to the gallery” over the issue and said Amarinder and his colleagues were “trying to become martyrs” by tendering resignations just before Assembly polls.
42 Congress MLAs Resign
All Opposition Congress MLAs on Friday submitted their resignation to the Punjab Assembly Secretary to protest the Supreme Court's ruling favouring Haryana on the SYL issue.
The 42 MLAs, including leader of opposition Charanjit Singh Channi, Sunil Jakhar, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Balbir Singh Sidhu, went to the assembly and submitted their resignations to assembly secretary Shashi Lakhanpal Mishra as speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal was not present.
Senior Congress leaders, including Amarinder Singh, Partap Singh Bajwa and Ambika Soni accompanied the MLAs.
The State Congress has also demanded setting up of another tribunal to assess the amount of water the state presently has access to.