By IANS
Chandigarh : The controversy over the sharing of water of river Yamuna with other states has brought the infighting within the ruling Congress to the fore with the government accusing its own former chief minister of “misleading the state and making a mockery of the interests of Haryana”.
Raking up the issue with media persons here Tuesday, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the then chief minister had misled the state and his own cabinet while signing the Yamuna water agreement in 1994.
The clear reference was to former Congress chief minister Bhajan Lal though Hooda did not name him.
Haryana’s Irrigation Minister Ajay Singh Yadav was more open in his criticism of Bhajan Lal. Yadav openly accused Bhajan Lal not only of misleading the state but also not keeping his cabinet colleagues informed of the agreement before signing it.
“The agreement was signed on May 12, 1994 whereas it was brought to the notice of the cabinet on May 19, 1994. Bhajan Lal clearly misled the people of the state and his cabinet colleagues,” Yadav said.
Incidentally, Bhajan Lal was pipped to the post of chief minister by Hooda in March 2005. Lal had led the Congress in the assembly election that year to a thumping three-fourth majority.
Hooda claimed that his government had now initiated the process of protecting the interests of Haryana in the water sharing agreement. He said that the 1994 agreement would be rectified.
The agreement is regarding sharing of water of the Yamuna with Delhi and other states. Under this agreement, Haryana’s share of water of the river was reduced from 66.66 percent to 47.8 percent.