In a strong message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday vowed to stop every single drop of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej waters from going waste in Pakistan and give that to the farmers of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
The Prime Minister’s remarks on the waters of the Indus system assume significance as Heart of Asia Conference, which will be attended by Pakistan Prime Minister’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Azizis, is scheduled to be held in Amritsar on December 3-4. Pakistan has warned India against “use of water as an instrument of coercion”.
“The waters in these rivers (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi) belong to India and our farmers. It is not being used in the fields of Pakistan but flowing into the sea through Pakistan. Now every drop of this water will be stopped and I will give that to farmers of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir and Indian farmers. I am committed to this,” said the Prime Minister addressing a rally in Bathinda after laying the foundation stone of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)..
He said a task force has been constituted to ensure that “each drop of water” that flows out of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi reaches Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
“There is no reason that we cannot use our rights (over our waters). We cannot let our farmers suffer,” said he adding, “I need your blessings in order to fulfil your requirements for watering your fields.”
Criticising the previous Governments at the Centre, Modi said, “Waters kept flowing to Pakistan, but successive Governments kept sleeping on this issue and my farmers kept crying for the want of water.”
“If Punjab farmers get sufficient amount of water, they could produce ‘gold’ from the soil and could fill the coffers of the country,” he said.
“Our Government is committed to work in tandem with the Badal Government in Punjab to get farmers their rights and address their concerns,” he said.
Evading any direct comment on the controversy over Satluj-Yamuna link (SYl) canal following Supreme Court’s decision, Modi suggested a middle path saying that the solution for the problems of water could be found out through common dialogue.
“Our Government is committed to work in tandem with the Badal Government in Punjab to get farmers their rights and address their concerns,” he said.
Doing some tough talking vis a vis Pakistan, he said, “From here Pakistan is not far off. When schoolchildren are killed in Pakistan, 125 crore Indians cry for them. We are with the people of Pakistan. I want to urge the people of Pakistan that they should tell their rulers that Pakistan should fight against poverty, corruption and other evils.”
“look at the strength of our Army. Our soldiers did a surgical strike in a 250-km belt. Pakistan Army has seen what our Army can do. There was big turmoil (in Pakistan) and it is still not settled.
The Prime Minister said vested interests in Pakistan were trying to keep “tension alive with India”.
Referring to the campaign launched by his Government against corruption and black money, Modi said, “I want to stop the exploitation of the middle class and get the poor their rights.”
He said the public had faced problems and inconvenience following his decision to demonetise the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, but had borne the trouble for the sake of honesty.
The Prime Minister urged people not to let the black money hoarders rise again. “Join us in this campaign to make this country great again,” he added.