Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said the demand for declaring Batala a district was already under consideration and various issues involved were being weighed before taking a decision.
The chief minister was responding to the demand raised by his cabinet colleagues Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. He said there were media reports that residents of Batala, too, have demanded the district status. The chief minister they (Tript and Sukhjinder) didn’t deem it fit to discuss the issue with him before shooting off a joint letter. “Had they come to me and spoken about it, I would have told them that I am already looking into the matter, and would have even consulted them in this regard,” said Amarinder.
Amarinder said Rajya Sabha MP Partap Bajwa had already demanded a district status for Batala through a letter dated August 11, 2021, citing Batala’s historical importance in Sikhism. “I will discuss the issue with various stakeholders before taking a decision,” he added.