The country's capital is in the vortex of a water war between Haryana and Punjab, thanks to the city chief minister's political ambitions.
In addition, there is the problem of a renewed agitation by Jats in Haryana, if the state's legislative assembly does not announce quotas in jobs and education for the community by the end of this month. Their earlier stir for this included blocking the Munak Canal that brings water to Delhi, causing a serious shortage.
Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi, told reporters: “Doing politics over water is not good; people from Punjab and Haryana are also our own. Everyone should get water.”
Unfortunately, Delhi might get hit for his not keeping to that please-all path. In the tussle between Punjab and Haryana on the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal, Kejriwal has supported Punjab's case. In retaliation, the government in Haryana has threatened to stop water supply, telling him to find and build an alternative to the Munak Canal.
The Jats have threatened a statewide stir from April 3, if not given reservations via legislation by March 31. In their earlier agitation, 30 people died, apart from stoppage of water to Delhi. That the renewed stir is a credible threat was clear as Union home minister Rajnath Singh consulted Haryana CM Manohar Lal on how water, rail and road connectivity could be secured if the Jats refused to be placated. On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi had called both Singh and Lal and told them he did not want to see a repetition of the February agitation.
The state government has promised that Jats will either be included in the list of backward classes or relevant amendments will be introduced in consultation with the Centre. The Haryana government is in a bind as the state cannot cross the 50 per cent cap on reservation and cannot include Jats in the existing BC category. Preparing for escalation, the state government on Friday blocked internet services in Rohtak district and truncated mobile telephone services. Rohtak was the epicentre of the February violence.
Rajnath Singh’s junior minister, Kiren Rijiju, said the Centre was ready to provide paramilitary forces if Haryana needed these.
As for the water sharing dispute, scuffles broke out outside the Punjab and Haryana legislative assemblies, both located in Chandigarh, as MLAs of each tried to enter the other to protest each other’s stance. In Moga, Punjab's deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, said he was ready to "make any sacrifice" rather than allow a "single drop of water" to flow out of the state. Punjab has repeatedly said it will not allow the Sutlej-Yamuna canal to be built, regardless of what the Supreme Court says.
