Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday came down heavily upon the Union government’s reported move to transfer water from the state list to the concurrent list.
“Any such move would be fraught with serious implications on economic as well as political fronts. Being an agrarian state, Punjab cannot allow any erosion of its jurisdiction over the issue. Water is the be-all and end-all not only of our farmers but of the entire populace. Any move to dilute the state’s control over the subject would be utterly inadvisable,” said Badal in a statement.
Asserting that his government would strongly oppose this step, Badal said, “The issue is sub-judice with the Supreme Court and the Centre’s proposed move would, apart from cutting at the roots of the federal spirit, also amount to an affront to judiciary.”
“The Centre must desist from tinkering with the basic structure of the statute, which clearly demarcates the areas of jurisdiction of the Union and the states. Already, various Congress governments at the Centre have progressively chipped away the federal character of the country and turned the Constitution into a document heavily tilted against the states,” said the chief minister.
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