"What About Water?": Arvind Kejriwal Faces SYL Canal Question Ahead Of Haryana Push

BJP's Kuldeep Bishnoi "dares" Arvind Kejriwal, who will be in Hisar with Punjab's Bhagwant Mann, to stand with Haryana in river-water dispute

Ahead of AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal's Haryana visit as part of the party's national campaign — where Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be with him — the BJP has dared him to take a clear stand on water-sharing between the two states, in an apparent dig over the long-pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.  BJP leader @bishnoikuldeep throws a challenge to Arvind Kejriwal. "If you are a well wisher of Haryana, make an announcement that Haryana will get it's share of river water and I will get on your stage." pic.twitter.com/friqNsUXbf

"Will Arvind Kejriwal announce that Haryana will get its due share of river water?" said BJP's Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was with the Congress until recently. 

The canal, incomplete for four decades, is to take water from Sutlej in Punjab to the Yamuna, thus supplying it mainly to Haryana and some to Delhi. That's why the SYL question is a difficult one for all parties that have a presence in Punjab and Haryana, besides Delhi. Local units favour their respective states — such as Kuldeep Bishnoi's latest "dare" — while national leaders cite the Supreme Court's suggestion for a solution through talks.  

This dichotomy — parties call it "internal democracy" — leads to tricky questions.