On Vidhan Sabha demand, Mann’s offensive: ‘If Haryana is granted land, why not Punjab’

“Have I given in writing that we have no claim over Chandigarh? Already their assembly is in Chandigarh. If more land is being given to them, then why should we not be considered? Who is speaking on the issue? It is Sukhbir Badal, who shifted all the offices of Punjab to Mohali because he had his own land there, who came up with New Chandigarh. Many times Parkash Singh Badal was the the chief minister in Punjab when the BJP was in power in Delhi. Why didn’t they talk about it then?” Mann said during a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Monday along with his wife Gurpreet Kaur and other family members, the first after his marriage.

Mann’s tweet on Saturday read: “I appeal to the central government that on the lines of Haryana, Punjab should also be allotted land in Chandigarh to construct its own assembly… There has been a demand for a long time that the Punjab-Haryana High Court should also be separated… for this also, please, the central government should provide land in Chandigarh…”

Badal on Sunday asked Mann to “immediately withdraw his controversial statement on Chandigarh which had surrendered Punjab’s rights over the Union territory, or be ready to face a full-scale agitation on this issue by Punjabis”.

“The chief minister backstabbed Punjabis and poured cold water on their aspirations to regain Chandigarh, Punjabi speaking areas in Haryana and its river waters…Mann alone is responsible for the current crisis, which has threatened Punjab’s hold on Chandigarh,” he had said.

“The CM had himself harmed the interests of the state during a meeting with the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in which he demanded a separate piece of land for a high court building of the state. This demand gave Haryana a chance to seek land for a separate Vidhan Sabha in the Union territory,” he had said.

Punjab has been staking claim on Chandigarh since the reorganisation of the state in 1966. The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, had carved out the state of Haryana from undivided Punjab, created the new UT of Chandigarh under the direct control of the Centre, and transferred the hill territories of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh, identified as the capital of Punjab in The Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, became the common capital of both Punjab and Haryana, and properties were divided between the states in the ratio of 60:40.

As a part of this division, a part of unorganised Punjab’s Vidhan Sabha, civil secretariat were also divided between Punjab and Haryana. Since Punjab has been staking claim on Chandigarh and has been demanding that another capital be carved out for Haryana, it automatically stakes claim on its properties also. Mann’s statement is being seen as a dilution of that claim as opposition asked him to withdraw the statement.

On the objections to the appointment of Raghav Chadda as the temporary advisory panel chairman, Mann said: “What is the objection? All the decisions of Punjab are taken by the chief minister. We make budget after taking suggestions from people. Today I talked to the public action committee on Mattewara.”