Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
The Punjab Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution, vowing not to spare even a single drop of water from its share to Haryana.
The resolution was moved in the Vidha Sabha amid a stand-off between Punjab and Haryana over water sharing.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserted that Punjab will not allow the release of even a single drop of water to Haryana, saying his state does not have surplus water to spare.
Earlier, Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal moved the resolution during a special session of the Assembly, after which it was taken up for discussion.
Reading out the resolution, Goyal accused the BJP of trying to take away the rights of Punjab through its governments in Haryana, at the Centre, and through the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
"By calling a BBMB meeting unconstitutionally and illegally, an attempt is being made to forcefully provide Punjab's rightful water to Haryana. Haryana used its share of water by March 31. Now the BJP wants to give water from Punjab's share to Haryana," the resolution said.
In the last three years, the Punjab government has tried to bring canal water to every farm in Punjab, it said.
"A network of canals and water courses has been built on a very large scale. Until 2021, only 22 per cent of Punjab's fields received canal water. But today, around 60 per cent of the fields are getting canal water.
"This is why every single drop of Punjab's water has become very precious for the state. Punjab no longer has any spare water to give to any other state," the resolution said.
"After Haryana on April 6 requested Punjab that it needed water for drinking purposes, Punjab showed a big heart and gave 4,000 cusecs of water to the state because our 'gurus' have taught us that giving water to a thirsty person is a great virtue," it said.
Goyal said that the population of Haryana was three crore, and it needed only 1,700 cusecs of water to meet its water requirements, including drinking water and for other human needs.
"Now, Haryana is saying all of a sudden that it needs 8,500 cusecs of water. Punjab does not have extra water to meet its demand. So, the BJP forcibly called a meeting of BBMB unconstitutionally and illegally, and passed a resolution that Punjab will have to give water to Haryana from its share," Goyal told the Assembly.
"This is not acceptable to us," he added.
"So, this House resolves unanimously that the government of Punjab will not give even a single drop of water from its share to Haryana," the resolution said.
It also said that 4,000 cusecs of water that is being given to Haryana for drinking purposes will continue as a humanitarian gesture, but "not even a drop more will be given".
This House strongly condemns the "illegal and unconstitutional" convening of the BBMB meeting by the ruling BJP, the resolution said.
"The BBMB has become a mere puppet in the hands of the BJP at the Centre. At its meetings, Punjab's voice is neither heard nor its rights are taken care of. So, the BBMB should be reorganised so that the rights of Punjab can be protected," the resolution said.
The House also considers the Dam Safety Act of 2021 an attack on the rights of Punjab, it added.
Representatives from the opposition parties supported the resolution, with the leader of the opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, asserting that Punjab doesn't have even a single drop of water to spare.
The row over water sharing erupted after AAP-ruled Punjab refused to release more water to BJP-ruled Haryana, claiming the latter has "already used 103 per cent of its allocated share of water by March".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
