BBMB chairman's wife defers joining BJP, claims threat calls received

Chandigarh, Jan 21 (PTI) Deepti Tripathi, the wife of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) chairman Manoj Tripathi, on Wednesday deferred her joining the Haryana BJP after she claimed that the family received threat calls from the proscribed outfit Babbar Khalsa International.

Deepti, who claims to have been involved in social work for many years, was supposed to join the BJP at the party office in Panchkula, in the presence of the party's district president, Ajay Mittal, and Kalka MLA Shakti Rana Sharma.

During the day, invitations were sent to the media for the coverage of the event, even as her joining had raised some eyebrows, given the AAP government in Punjab being at loggerheads with the BBMB over the sharing of river waters with Haryana last year.

Speaking to reporters, Deepti said that she was to join the BJP on Wednesday, as she was impressed by the party's policies, programmes and development works.

However, she deferred it after her family received threat calls from the Babbar Khalsa and some people had gheraoed their premises.

She also defended her decision to join a political party despite her husband being the chairman of the BBMB, saying if one person in a family is in service, then the other could join politics as per their wish.

Last April, a row erupted after the Punjab AAP government refused the release of more water to the BJP-ruled Haryana from the Bhakra dam, stating that the neighbouring state has already utilised its share.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had then accused the BJP of exerting pressure on the Punjab government through the BBMB to meet Haryana's demand for additional supply of water.

Later, the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The AAP government had also opposed the Centre's move to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force personnel at the Bhakra dam project.

Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are the partnering states which meet their requirement for different purposes, including irrigation, from Bhakra and Pong dams, which are managed by the BBMB, established in 1966, under provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. PTI CHS SUN AMJ AMJ