Chandigarh, May 22 (PTI) Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Thursday slammed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the Nangal dam, accusing him of "unnecessarily politicising" the issue.
The Centre has sanctioned a contingent of 296 CISF personnel to provide a counter-terrorist security cover to the Nangal dam amid the standoff between Punjab and Haryana over sharing of water from the dam.
Mann condemned the Centre's move and asked about the need to deploy CISF personnel when the Punjab Police was already providing security to the dam.
In a statement, Bittu said the deployment was a routine measure aimed at securing critical national infrastructure and termed Mann's objections as "irresponsible" and "politically motivated".
He urged Mann to behave in accordance with the dignity of his constitutional office.
"Bhagwant Mann needs to understand he is no longer a comedian but a chief minister of a sensitive border state," Bittu said in a statement.
"Security of vital projects like Nangal and Bhakra dams should not be turned into political theatre," he said.
The Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Railways said the CISF deployment has no connection with the water-sharing decisions, which remain under the jurisdiction of irrigation and power department officials and administrative authorities.
"These deployments are solely for the protection of infrastructure and have no bearing on inter-state water distribution," he added.
Taking a swipe at Mann, Bittu pointed out that central forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the CISF, are already deployed for Mann's own security at multiple locations including his official residence in Chandigarh, the Kapurthala House in New Delhi and at various state institutions like the Punjab Civil Secretariat and airports.
"Mann has no objection to the CRPF protecting him wherever he goes or the CISF securing the state's airports and secretariats. But when the same forces are deployed to protect national assets like dams, he suddenly cries foul," Bittu said.
The Union minister further criticised Mann for trying to "exploit" the situation for "political mileage", adding that such stunts were disconnected from the real concerns of Punjab's people.
"Security forces are not political tools. The CM must refrain from undermining their credibility," he asserted.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia too lashed out at Mann, saying the chief minister's "theatrics had not only compromised the water rights of Punjab but had also taken the security management of the Nangal dam out of the State's hands."
Terming the central government's decision to post 296 CISF personnel at Nangal dam as a "direct result of cheap publicity moves like locking the outside gates of the Sutlej Sadan and posting Punjab Police personnel at the dam in a show of strength", Majithia said "all this has spoilt Punjab's case even more".
"What has never happened before is occurring now. Not only is the State being robbed of its water but has also been shunted out from its own township of Nangal," Majithia said.
Asserting that the chief minister was squarely responsible for this "mess", the SAD leader said, "Instead of understanding the gravity of the situation and taking appropriate action, he is busy generating Artificial Intelligence-generated images to show himself as the protector of the state's river waters."