Renaming Chandigarh Advisor as Chief Secy sees all political events sans BJP in Punjab on the identical web page | Chandigarh Information

Calling the MHA’s transfer “an try to weaken Punjab’s declare over Chandigarh,” the ruling Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) stated the choice as soon as once more uncovered “the anti-Punjab perspective of the Centre.”

Addressing the media on the celebration headquarters right here on Wednesday, senior celebration spokesperson Neel Garg stated, “The Chief Secretary’s publish is for states, and Chandigarh is neither a state nor does it have a chief minister. Then why is there a must appoint a Chief Secretary? The folks of Punjab won’t tolerate this. The Centre ought to rethink and withdraw the choice.”

Garg stated, “Chandigarh belongs to Punjab. It was clearly acknowledged through the division of Punjab and Haryana in 1966 that till Haryana arrange its capital, Chandigarh could be a Union Territory, and thereafter it could be handed over to Punjab. In 1970, Rs 10 crore was given to Haryana to ascertain its capital. A number of states in India have been divided, and so they all established their respective capitals, however Punjab continues to face discrimination.”

“Traditionally, politically, and socially, Chandigarh belongs to Punjab. Chandigarh was constructed by uprooting 27 villages in Punjab. Due to this fact, the central authorities mustn’t make any main selections with out consulting the Punjab authorities,” Garg added.

The AAP spokesperson recalled that a number of months in the past, the Centre had proposed to allocate 10 acres in Chandigarh to Haryana to construct an Meeting, “additional weakening Punjab’s declare over Chandigarh. Nevertheless, when the folks of Punjab and the AAP strongly opposed it, the proposal was shelved briefly.”

AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang additionally criticised the Centre, stating that the BJP authorities tried to “rob Punjab of its rights” by renaming the publish of Advisor to the Chief Secretary. “They need to have at the very least consulted Punjab earlier than doing this. What they’ve completed is autocracy. This notification needs to be withdrawn. The Centre can not determine on Chandigarh with out consulting Punjab.”

The Punjab Congress and the SAD additionally condemned the Centre, with PPCC president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring posting on X: “We @INCPunjab strongly oppose the Central Authorities’s resolution to re-designate the Chandigarh Administrator’s Advisor as Chief Secretary. This transfer is a transparent try to undermine Punjab’s rightful declare over Chandigarh and raises critical considerations concerning the officer’s affiliation with the Punjab cadre. Taking such a choice with out consulting Punjab is unacceptable and displays a disregard for the state’s pursuits. This deliberate motion seems to weaken Punjab’s authority.”

Chief of the Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa stated, “It’s not merely an administrative change, however a strategic transfer by the Centre to additional dilute Punjab’s rights. The Centre’s resolution is in step with Delhi and indicators a broader effort to completely convert Chandigarh right into a Union Territory. This transfer is an assault on Punjab’s dignity and a violation of the rules of federalism.”

Criticising the Centre’s resolution, former deputy chief minister and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal stated, “I strongly condemn the choice. That is one other discriminatory step by the GOI to additional dilute Punjab’s rightful declare to Chandigarh. I urge the Centre to not bleed the nation’s sturdy arm and granary as this will have very critical long-term penalties. The switch of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab, together with granting our riparian rights over river waters, and so forth., are the one unfinished objects on the agenda of the 1966 reorganisation of Punjab. I additionally warning the folks of Punjab in opposition to the collusion of Punjab CM @BhagwantMann with the Centre on anti-Punjab selections.”

Badal alleged that the choice was taken in lively collusion with the AAP authorities in Punjab and its Chief Minister. “Mann had formally acknowledged Haryana’s proper over Chandigarh by agreeing to arrange the Haryana Legislative Meeting right here. He held the identical anti-Punjab stance on Panjab College and the PGI,” Badal alleged.

The Akali chief stated the switch of Chandigarh to Punjab is “a settled challenge executed by two Prime Ministers of the nation, endorsed by the Union Cupboard, in addition to by each Homes of Parliament following the Memorandum of Settlement on Punjab in July 1985.”

“Even the problem of the Hindi-speaking areas to be transferred to Haryana as a substitute of Chandigarh stands settled past any attainable dispute or doubt. Two separate commissions arrange by the Union authorities had categorically dominated in favour of Punjab, stating there was no Hindi-speaking space within the state that may very well be transferred to Haryana,” Badal stated.

“So, the one unfinished agenda of the 1966 reorganisation of Punjab was to revive to us our constitutional rights over the river waters as a riparian state. The switch of Chandigarh and different Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab, which have been ignored of the state, and the restoration of the state’s management over establishments and authorities just like the BBMB, academic and cultural establishments, and so forth., are additionally a part of our calls for. Punjab calls for nothing greater than its due rights as assured beneath the Structure of India,” he added.

(With ENS, Ludhiana)