Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and union minister for home affairs Sushilkumar Shinde for immediate withdrawal of the proposed merger of posts currently held by officers of the Punjab Civil Services (PCS), Haryana Civil Services (HCS) and the UT Chandigarh cadre with Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Services (DANICS).
Badal wrote to the Prime Minister and the home minister to issue instructions in this regard to the authorities concerned "before it snowballs into a major controversy to vitiate the atmosphere in this region".
The chief minister expressed concern over the recent step of the union ministry of home affairs directing the UT Chandigarh administration to complete the procedural formalities for the merger of the cadres with those of Punjab and Haryana and send the draft notification on the lines of the already approved merger of the DSP (deputy superintendent of police) cadre of UT Chandigarh with Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS).
Badal stated that the implementation of this move would mean that civil posts currently held by PCS and HCS officers would then be held by officers of the DANICS cadre only.
Terming the issue of extreme public sensitivity in Punjab, Badal asked the PM and the union home minister to resolve it on top priority, "as the casual manner in which the issue continues to be treated by the policy-makers concerned at the Centre is highly deplorable."
{{/usCountry}}Terming the issue of extreme public sensitivity in Punjab, Badal asked the PM and the union home minister to resolve it on top priority, "as the casual manner in which the issue continues to be treated by the policy-makers concerned at the Centre is highly deplorable."
{{/usCountry}}"The union government's acknowledgement of Punjab's right over this new move would strike at the root of Punjab's inalienable right over its capital city (Chandigarh)," Badal said.
He also stressed the need for the Centre to religiously implement the appointment of officers from Punjab and Haryana in the UT administration on the basis of the mandatory 60:40 ratio from the two states, respectively.