Bhopal, Aug 13 (PTI) Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday accused the Congress of cheating the country by giving 80 per cent water of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers to Pakistan, and said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam attack.
A day after the Pahalgam terror attack claimed 26 lives on April 22, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in "abeyance".
Taking part in a Tiranga Yatra in his Lok Sabha constituency Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan said, "Congress has cheated the country. Pandit Nehru ji also cheated...Eighty per cent water of our Indus, Jhelum, Chenab was given to Pakistan, but Prime Minister Modi ji said - 'water and blood cannot flow together'. He cancelled the Indus Water Treaty."
"Nehru ji gave water and money too. Canals are built in Pakistan and terrorists come from there and kill our innocent citizens in Pahalgam. And then Modi ji said - we will chase terrorists even to the other end of the world and punish them in such a way that the world will remember it," the Agriculture Minister said.
Indian armed forces destroyed terror bases in Pakistan. They (terrorists) killed 26 innocent citizens, but India gave a befitting reply to the neighbouring country, the former MP chief minister said.
"After Operation Sindoor, we carried out Operation Mahadev. This is India of the present times, which talks to the world by looking right into their eyes. Right now, the neighbouring country is giving empty threats, but India is not going to be scared of any of that," he said.
"The Indus Waters Treaty has been cancelled and its water will be useful for our farmers. The Indus Waters Treaty is no longer an issue, the issue is Pak-Occupied Kashmir. It is ours and will remain ours," Chouhan said.
Before taking out the Tiranga Yatra and Swadeshi March in Vidisha, the minister celebrated Raksha Bandhan with women members of a self-help group (SHG). The yatra and march started from Madhavganj Square of Vidisha and ended at Mahamaya Chowk of Raisen.
Chouhan received a rousing welcome at different places. He appealed to people to hoist the tricolour at their home on Independence Day and took a pledge to adopt Swadeshi. PTI MAS NP