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Direct Punjab CM to withdraw statement seeking land for Vidhan Sabha: SAD to governor
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday appealed to Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit to instruct chief minister Bhagwant Mann to withdraw his statement seeking land for the state Vidhan Sabha
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday appealed to Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit to instruct chief minister Bhagwant Mann to withdraw his statement seeking land for the state Vidhan Sabha, saying it amounted to surrendering Punjab’s rights on Chandigarh and also to apprise the Centre that Punjabis will not tolerate giving away even an inch of Chandigarh’s land to Haryana.
In a memorandum submitted to the governor, the SAD delegation led by its president Sukhbir Singh Badal said Mann had not opposed the erosion of Punjab’s rights on Chandigarh, including the formation of UT cadre in Chandigarh, implementation of a central pay scale for employees, erosion of Punjabi language status, and the removal of Punjab’s representative from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) that controls the flow of river waters.
The delegation asserted that Chandigarh is an integral part of Punjab. “This was ratified during the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and later the Rajiv Longowal Agreement, which was passed in both the Houses of Parliament as well as in the Haryana Legislative Assembly, that Chandigarh belongs to Punjab,” reads the memorandum.
He added that accordingly, the governor should apprise the Centre of the circumstances and recommend that Chandigarh be handed over to Punjab as its capital.
The delegation also told the governor that the confusion created by the action of the Punjab government and the Union home minister could “vitiate the atmosphere” in the state.
The delegation included Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema.
The Akali Dal requested that all the decisions taken by the union territory administration from time to time that are against the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, including abrogation of Punjabi language status, abolition of the ratio of 60:40 of Punjab and Haryana officers in the UT, implementation of central pay rates and creation of its own cadre of UT, should be withdrawn.
The delegation told the governor that the CM has taken the “decision under the pressure of Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal as the latter is striving to make an advantage in Haryana in the upcoming assembly elections”.
They also demanded a CBI probe into the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in the light of the Delhi Police’s revelation that the mastermind of the murder Goldy Brar had instructed the shooters that Moose Wala’s security has been withdrawn and acting against him would be easier.
The governor was also conveyed that AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has been “unconstitutionally” made the chairman of the state advisory committee. This decision is in violation of the law of the Prevention of Disqualification Act, 1959, under which no MLA or MP can be appointed to any office of profit. The party demanded that the appointment be cancelled immediately.
