Journalism of Courage
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday said the “SYL issue was not merely a political issue for the Akali Dal but an emotive one, which will be tackled with utmost sensitivity and caution as river waters is the lifeline of Punjab especially farmers”.
He was presiding over the first convocation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University at Sri Fatehgarh Sahib.
Terming Congress as the “real culprit” in the SYL issue, he said, “Punjab has been a victim of discrimination due to biased policies of successive Congress governments. It was denied its rightful share in river waters under Indira Gandhi in brazen defiance of internationally accepted Riparian laws.”
Badal asked the Congress to “stop politicking over the sensitive issue and unnecessarily criticising the SAD-BJP alliance”.
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He said SAD has already clarified its stand that it was prepared to make supreme sacrifice to save waters.
Badal also criticised the Congress for hailing former CM Captain Amarinder Singh as the ‘Savior of Waters’ for the passage of Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004.
He said it was “nothing but an unintentional admission of guilt by the Congress government for betrayal with the people of Punjab on river waters”.
In his convocation address, the Chief Minister said the state government would soon come out with a policy to regularise the services of ad-hoc/contract employees.
He said all the vacant posts of doctors and teachers would be filled soon to ensure smooth functioning of the hospitals and schools across the state.
As many as 478 students from different streams were awarded degrees during the convocation besides ten were honoured with university medals for their outstanding academic record.
Ex-Army Chief General (Retd.) Bikram Singh and former IFS Bhagwant Singh Dalawari were conferred honorary degrees of Doctorate of Science and Doctorate of Literature, respectively, for outstanding services rendered by them in their fields.
