Sukhbir meets Shah, opposes move to appoint full-fledged administrator for Chandigarh

Akali Dal chief terms this as another attempt to dilute Punjab’s claim on its capital city which is an inseparable part of state

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has requested Union home minister Amit Shah to review the central government’s decision to appoint a full-fledged administrator for the union territory of Chandigarh by divesting the Punjab governor of this charge.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

A meeting with Shah on Wednesday evening, the SAD chief termed this as another attempt to dilute Punjab’s claim on its capital city, saying Chandigarh was an inseparable part of Punjab and should be transferred to the parent state as soon as possible. He said there was no reason to appoint a full-fledged administrator for the UT from outside the state.

“If at all an administrator has to be appointed till such time the UT is not transferred to Punjab, the officer should be from the parent state. Earlier also, the chief commissioner of Chandigarh used to be from Punjab,” he said in a statement.

Sukhbir informed the home minister that all decisions taken at the time of reorganisation of Punjab were being violated. He also claimed that the Centre was not following the 60:40 ratio for posting of officers in the UT. “Separate cadres have been created to reduce the strength of Punjab service officers in the UT and now even AGMUT officers are being posted on key posts in utter violation of the 60:40 formula,” he said.