Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for suspending the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, saying it was an injustice to Indian farmers.
Chouhan also hailed the Indian armed forces for successfully carrying out Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack.
Talking to reporters after interacting with various farmer groups in the country in Delhi, the Union minister claimed that keeping in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty would greatly benefit the farmers of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and some parts of Himachal Pradesh.
#WATCH | Delhi: On #OperationSindoor, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says, "PM gave a free hand to the armed forces. The armed forces decided that this is India, we will not kill everyone. You must have heard Defence Minister Rajnath Singh say, 'जिन्ह मोहि मारा ते मैं… pic.twitter.com/0RCRP7drkn
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2025
“This treaty was signed in 1960 by Jawaharlal Nehru. More than 80 per cent of the Indus water was given to Pakistan. We gave them money and water. What did Pakistan give us in return? Providing water to Pakistan is unjust to Indian farmers,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
“Water and blood cannot flow together. Terror and cricket cannot go together. The nation's resolve is to uproot terrorism,” he added.
Chouhan said Indian armed forces took down Pakistan’s drones and missiles like toys. “We didn't attack Pakistan directly; our fight was against terrorists, but Pakistan didn't accept this. It was started by Pakistan. They thought that would scare India with drones and missiles of Turkiye and China,” said the minister.
India suspended the water treaty on April 23, a day after terrorists attacked Pahalgam and killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists. New Delhi alleged cross-border links to the attack and launched airstrikes on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
