E-Paper
Sukhbir opposes plan to appoint full-fledged administrator for UT
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday termed the proposal to appoint a full-fledged administrator for the Union Territory by divesting the Punjab governor of this charge an another attempt to dilute Punjab’s claim to Chandigarh
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday termed the proposal to appoint a full-fledged administrator for the Union Territory by divesting the Punjab governor of this charge an another attempt to dilute Punjab’s claim to Chandigarh.
“We will oppose this tooth and nail. Chandigarh is an inseparable part of Punjab and should be transferred to the parent state as soon as possible,” said Sukhbir in a statement.
The SAD chief 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 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.”
Asserting that all decisions taken at the time of reorganisation of Punjab were being violated one after another, Sukhbir said 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.
Stating that instead of correcting the wrongs being done to Punjab vis a vis Chandigarh, the SAD chief said it was condemnable that the Union government was now planning to dilute Punjab’s role in Chandigarh even further.
“It was unfortunate that the NDA government was following the path of the Congress government by proposing to implement an anti-Punjab move which was also against the spirit of the constitution,” he said.
He said the SAD had earlier too opposed a move to appoint a separate administrator for Chandigarh in 2016 by divesting the Punjab Governor of this charge.
“We will launch an agitation to ensure this move does not fructify again,” he said.
The SAD chief said Punjab had the first right over Chandigarh as the UT was established by uprooting people from villages belonging to Punjab. He said even though Chandigarh was still the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, efforts were on to dilute its stake in the UT on one pretext or another.
