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Haryana a tenant in Chandigarh, should get its own capital: Karan Dalal
Amid the ongoing cries of claim between Punjab and Haryana over the union territory of Chandigarh, former Haryana minister Karan Singh Dalal on Monday termed it a ‘ghisa pita’ (stale) issue which is being raked up only to mislead the public
Amid the ongoing cries of claim between Punjab and Haryana over the union territory of Chandigarh, former Haryana minister Karan Singh Dalal on Monday termed it a ‘ghisa pita’ (stale) issue which is being raked up only to mislead the public.
Dalal, a former Congress MLA from Palwal, during a press briefing said the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab brought a resolution in the state assembly staking claim over Chandigarh just to deceive the public. “And now Haryana is reciprocating by convening a special session of the assembly to pass a similar resolution. Such resolutions have been passed several times before. All this is like ‘Noorakushti’ (a fixed match) to hoodwink people of both states,” Dalal said.
The former Congress legislator said he is not airing his views as a Congress leader but in a personal capacity as his stance is different from that of his party.
Dalal said Haryana should think of developing a new capital for the sake of people’s convenience. “I request all Haryana MLAs to think over having the state’s own independent capital. For the last 55 years, Haryana has occupied Chandigarh as a tenant and now it’s time to think about an independent capital. Haryanvis do not relate to the culture and language of Chandigarh and are treated as second-rate citizens there,” he said.
He said even small states have their own capitals and it’s surprising that a state like Haryana never gave it a thought.
The former minister said Haryana’s share will be about 4,400 hectare on Chandigarh land and the central government should provide commensurate financial compensation at collector rate to the Haryana government for building its own separate capital. He said the resolution passed by the Punjab assembly has spoilt the strong ties and brotherhood forged between people of both the states during the farmers’ agitation.
The former MLA said the issue of equitable distribution of Ravi-Beas waters and Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal completion will not get sorted by merely passing resolutions and making statements. “Measures such as constitution of new tribunal by the central government to decide the water share will have to be initiated,” he said.
