In a sudden reversal, the central government has cancelled a high-profile event scheduled in Punjab to mark the 100-year anniversary of the Gang Canal and asked Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to return to Delhi. The decisions, taken on Thursday, December 4, 2025, reportedly followed strong warnings from the Punjab unit of the BJP about potential public backlash in the state.
Last-Minute Cancellation and Recall
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal had already landed at Amritsar airport late on Thursday evening when the directive came. He was instructed to fly back to the national capital. The function he was supposed to attend was a 7 AM event on Friday, December 5, at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district. This date marks exactly a century since the foundation stone of the Gang Canal was laid on December 5, 1925, in Ferozepur.
The event was intended to celebrate the canal's centenary. However, the political sensitivity of celebrating a structure that diverts a significant portion of Punjab's waters to Rajasthan prompted the Centre's U-turn. Former Punjab Congress minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, who joined the BJP ahead of the 2022 polls, was also slated to attend the now-cancelled function.
Emotive Issue of Water Sharing
The primary reason for the cancellation, as per reports, was a caution from the Punjab BJP leadership to the party's central command. They highlighted that water sharing with other states is an intensely emotive issue in Punjab. Farmers in the state have a history of protesting against what they perceive as an unfair distribution, with the "lion's share" of water going to Rajasthan via the Gang Canal.
This incident marks the latest in a series of recent reversals by the Centre on decisions related to Punjab. It follows the backtracking on plans to dissolve the senate and syndicate of Panjab University and to change the administrative structure of Chandigarh.
Political Reactions and Alternate Plans
Reacting sharply to the initial plan, Punjab's Leader of the Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa of the Congress, condemned the BJP. He called the decision to celebrate the canal's centenary on Punjab's soil "insensitive and politically provocative." Bajwa argued that the canal, built by the British to appease Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, represents a "historic injustice" and colonial-era arrangement made without Punjabi consent.
Meanwhile, Minister Meghwal will now participate in an alternate function at Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, which will be attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. Prior to the cancellation, Meghwal had shared a poster on social media platform X, praising the canal's legacy as a "tribute to the remarkable legacy of good governance, foresight, and public welfare."
The abrupt change in plans underscores the enduring and volatile nature of interstate water disputes in India, where historical agreements continue to fuel contemporary political and agrarian tensions.
