It is an issue that has brought the government and the opposition together in two states. As the Punjab Assembly moved a motion to bring Chandigarh under its purview, the resolution gave rise to united opposition from neighboring Haryana, which also raised its claim to the Union Territory.
The Punjab Assembly, in its special one-day session on Friday, passed a resolution to relocate Chandigarh to Punjab. With the exception of two BJP MLAs, all opposition parties, including the Akali Dal and the Congress, supported the proposal.
The resolution has provoked angry reactions from almost all sides across the Haryana border. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Chandigarh was and will remain the capital of Haryana and Punjab. “Both the states have a lot to talk about besides Chandigarh,” he added.
Opposition leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has even backed Khattar. Hooda said the Punjab resolution was just a “political agenda” of the AAP.
“According to the report of Shah Commission, Chandigarh belongs to Haryana. Punjab is not even giving us our share of water. We also have 50% stake in Chandigarh Airport. What if we decide to block our roads in Punjab and deny them entry? Water, region and capital need to be addressed, ”Hooda said.
The leaders demanded that a special session of the Haryana Legislative Assembly be convened and said that the Sutlej Jamuna Link canal should also be rebuilt and pressure should be exerted for a speedy solution.
How politically sensitive the issue is can be gauged from the fact that the proposal to relocate Chandigarh to Punjab is not the first. It was first transferred on May 18, 1967, when a non-governmental proposal was sent by Acharya Prithvi Singh Azad to include Chandigarh in the Punjab. Resolution is carried out.
On 19 January 1970, another unofficial resolution was moved by Chowdhury Balbir Singh to transfer Chandigarh, Bhakra and other Punjabi-speaking territories. The proposal was made unanimously without any discussion.
On September 7, 1978, a private resolution to unify Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas with Punjab was moved by Sukhdev Singh Dhillon and passed unanimously.
A private resolution was passed by Baldev Singh Mann on October 31, 1985 to transfer the Hindi-speaking area to Haryana instead of Chandigarh.
On March 6, 1986, the unofficial resolution for the implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi-Harchand Singh Longowal Agreement was moved by Om Prakash Gupta. The proposal was passed unanimously.
On December 23, 2014, a non-governmental resolution for the transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab was transferred and carried by Iqbal Singh Jhundan.
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