Vajpayee writes to PM, seeks all-party meet on river water

Breaking his silence over the performance of the new government, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for an all-party meeting on the contentious issue of sharing of river water.

Saying that the sharing of river water was turning into a rivalry between states, the former Prime Minister used strong language to describe the urgency of the situation.

The letter, which comes after two stormy Parliament sessions where Vajpayee maintained a stoic silence even as former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani played a more active role, may signal Vajpayee's active involvement in political affairs again.

Sources in the Bharatiya Janata party said Vajpayee unilaterally shot off the letter and informed Advani and party president M Venkaiah Naidu only this morning at a meeting convened to discuss the World Trade Organisation related issues.

Without directly referring to the unilateral scrapping of water sharing agreements with neighbouring states by the Congress government in Punjab, he said, "everyone has a viewpoint on sharing of river waters. Punjab has its needs; so do Haryana and Rajasthan. Every state, every political party has a right to take a stand in a democracy."

"That is not the issue. A democracy only functions by mutual consent, not by arbitrary action. Passions are building that need to be calmed immediately, before they burst into flames," he wrote.

"I am worried that a conflagration could consume our country. Water is an essential commodity, which arouses the deepest emotions among people, particularly farmers," Vajpayee said.

In the letter, copies of which were released to the media on Monday, Vajpayee said, "I urge that all of us treat this as a national problem that could degenerate into a crisis and seek amicable answers to dangerous questions. I suggest that you urgently convene a meeting of leaders of all political parties to evolve a consensual approach on sharing of river waters."

Regretting that the Congress-led government had wound up the task force on inter-linking of rivers, set up by the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, "at a time when emotions on the issue of water have risen alarmingly," Vajpayee said, "I believe that it is our duty to use our vision to make water into a factor that unites the country. We know that when water begins to divide us, it becomes an acid that tears apart brothers," he said.

He said it was this concern that made the NDA government dream of a system by which the water basins of the country could be prevented from being wasted into the ocean.

"Some useful work was done by the task force headed by Suresh Prabhu. The task force did create a widespread awareness on the urgent need of water resources management in the country and the importance of inter-linking of rivers as a means of a comprehensive approach to solve the problems," he said.

"Oil is called the liquid gold of the modern age; water is the true liquid gold now. Some people say in 20 years time, wars will be fought in the world over water, not oil. In our country, we have always considered water holy," Vajpayee added.

The Prime Minister's Office is yet to respond to Vajpayee's letter yet.