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Friday, November 15, 2024

Modi Attempts to Woo Voters with Threats to Stop Water Flowing to Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has threatened to divert the water flowing into Pakistan to the farms in Haryana and Rajasthan. He made these claims at an election rally in Haryana state. India has several times, in the past, violated the Indus Water Treaty.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, threatened that the BJP-led government will stop the water flowing into Pakistan, and divert it to the farms of the Haryana state.

It is important to note that this is not the first time New Delhi has threatened Pakistan with the specter of diverting waters as India is notorious for violating the Indus Water Treaty, an agreement brokered between the two nuclear-armed rivals by the World Bank.

The Indian Prime Minister is currently in Haryana, addressing electioneering rallies to support the reelection of BJP in the upcoming Assembly election.

Modi’s Water Terrorism

Addressing an election rally in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, Narendra Modi said, “For 70 years, the water which belongs to India and the farmers of Haryana flowed to Pakistan. Modi will stop this water (from flowing into Pakistan) and bring to your houses.”

The Indian Prime Minister said that the farmers of Rajasthan and Haryana have the rights over the water that is flowing into Pakistan, and the former Indian governments failed to stop this. He said, “Modi will fight your battles.”

Read more: India displaying frustration: Blocks water in vengeance

He assured the people gathered at the election rally that the BJP-led government will ensure that the water flowing into Pakistan is diverted to the farms of Haryana and Rajasthan. Urging the people to vote for the BJP and reelect the ruling party in the upcoming Assembly elections, Modi said that the state is experiencing growth due to the “double engine” of progress and development.

He said, “The double engine of Modi in Delhi and Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana has resulted in unprecedented development of the state.”

Haryana will witness a single phase of polls on October 21, while the counting of votes will be done on October 24.

Analysts and opinion makers across India believe that this threat of diverting waters flowing into Pakistan is yet another attempt to win the election by whipping up anti-Pakistan propaganda and undermining the rival neighbor with aggressive posturing.

Many accuse the Indian Prime Minister of neglecting more pressing concerns such as widespread poverty, rising inflation, lack of employment opportunities, and more. Instead, he is focused on whipping up an anti-Pakistan fervor to capture the voters.

https://twitter.com/i_theindian/status/1184311567669555200

This is not the first time Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has threatened to divert the waters flowing into Pakistan. This threat loomed over Pakistan’s head, a country gravely threatened by the hazards of climate change, earlier in February in the aftermath of the Pulwama false flag attack.

Read more: Can India and Pakistan cooperate on water?

Modi had made similar threats in 2016, in the aftermath of the Uri base attack, which analysts deemed to be a false flag attack to depict Pakistan as a terror-sponsoring state in the international community. Modi had said, “Blood and water cannot flow together”, with threats to put an end to the water agreement signed between the two nations.

India and Pakistan share the waters of six rivers that flow through both nations under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which has remained unbroken even through three wars. Under the treaty, India controls the waters of the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers, while Pakistan controls the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers. However, India claims an estimated 5 percent of India’s unutilized water share flows to downstream Pakistani territory.