Chandigarh, May 1 (PTI) Amid escalating tension between Punjab and Haryana over sharing of water, the opposition Congress and SAD in Punjab warned that people of the state will not allow a single drop of extra water to flow into any other state.

People of the state will not allow a single drop of extra water to flow into any other state, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said.

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The rightful due of Haryana has already been provided to it and it cannot seek extra water when Punjab itself was much short of it, Warring said in a statement.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, meanwhile, asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) "not to indulge in theatrics on the extremely sensitive issue of Punjab's river water and instead tell Punjabis why the AAP government sold the interests of the state by releasing 4,000 cusecs of water to Haryana one month back, and failed to ward off the release of another 8,500 cusecs now".

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The SAD chief said in a statement, "It is highly condemnable that instead of addressing the issue of desertification of Punjab and the blow to its farm economy, AAP is indulging in cheap 'dharnas' to deflect attention from the sellout of the state's river water by the chief minister."

He also asserted that the SAD would not allow the "conspiracy" by the neighbouring states and the Central government to "rob" Punjab of its river water by unilaterally forcing the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to release an additional 8,500 cusecs of water to Haryana.

"This order should be revoked immediately as it has been issued without taking the approval of the Punjab government as per the BBMB manual," Badal said.

Claiming that Punjab did not have any surplus water to give (to Haryana), Badal said the Akali Dal would safeguard the rights of the state's farmers, who were already reeling under water shortage for irrigation needs.

In a post in Punjabi on X, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said, "We always stand firmly with the interests of Punjab and our stand is clear that the state does not have excess water to give to any state."

Jakhar also referred to Punjab Police stepping up security at the Nangal dam, which is located downstream of the Bhakra dam in Rupnagar district.

"Today, when there is a war-like situation on the international border, Punjab government is trying to destabilise the state by involving the state's forces in protests and sit-ins.

"Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann himself said during last year's Haryana elections that water will be given to Delhi and Haryana. The AAP government also said in the Supreme Court that farmers were not allowing it to build the SYL canal," Jakhar said in his post.

"In fact, this exposes AAP's double standards because under the pretext of protests and sit-ins, they are trying to cover up the crimes of their leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who were involved in the multi-crore classroom scam in Delhi," Jakhar alleged.

The Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has filed a case against Sisodia and Jain over alleged corruption in the construction of 12,748 classrooms under the previous Arvind Kejriwal-led government in the capital.

Referring to the protests and dharnas being held by AAP, Warring called them a "drama" aimed at diverting public attention.

"Why do you need to stage dharnas when you are running the government," Warring asked the AAP government, telling it "to stop the drama and take everyone along".

"There was no reason for Haryana to seek extra water when it had already got its share. We cannot let our own state go dry to provide water to others," Warring said, as he assured full support and cooperation to the government to deal with the situation.

Warring clarified that his party was not against providing Haryana with water that has already been allocated to it under various agreements in the past, which it has been receiving all these years.

"But we will not allow a single drop of extra water to flow out of Punjab," he said.

The leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, said with Punjab's reservoirs critically depleted and 76.5 per cent of its groundwater blocks overexploited, "Haryana's brazen demand for 8,500 cusecs threatens Punjab's agricultural backbone, which produces 185 lakh metric tonnes for India's food security".

Bajwa also accused the BJP of sacrificing Punjab for political gains, demanding urgent action to safeguard the state's water rights.

Haryana has already consumed 103 percent of its 2.987 MAF water share, yet it seeks more by flouting the prior agreements, Bajwa said.

"Under BJP's political grip, the BBMB dismissed Punjab's evidence of Haryana's overdraw, railroading the state's objections in recent deliberations. The BJP's blatant bias has turned Punjab's water crisis into a political weapon," Bajwa claimed.

"Haryana's greed, fuelled by BJP's complicity, will strangle Punjab's farmers," he added.

"We demand water for Punjab's reservoirs, not for Haryana's overreach" Bajwa said, as he called for a transparent and data-driven approach to put an end to BJP's "divisive tactics".

"We will fight relentlessly for every drop our state deserves, ensuring justice for those who feed the nation," Bajwa said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)