‘Not a single drop will be given away’: CM Mann warns of mass resistance over water release as High Court flags Punjab for contempt | Chandigarh News
Reiterating that not a drop of Punjab’s water would be allowed to go out, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday warned the BJP-led Centre and the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) of mass resistance if they attempted to release water to Haryana without the state’s consent. The CM’s strongly worded statement came just two days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that Punjab had prima facie committed contempt by obstructing BBMB’s functioning. “The people of Punjab are up in arms. Any BBMB officer who tries to come and release water will be responsible for their safety,” Mann said, accusing Union Minister and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of being the “mastermind” behind the push to divert water. “If Punjabis can guard our borders, they can protect their waters too,” said CM Mann, while addressing a gathering at the Nangal dam. Mann categorically asserted that there was no High Court order directing the state to release water. “The BJP is illegally trying to snatch Punjab’s water under the garb of judicial directives,” …
