Centre’s Bill to take control over Chandigarh: Why is Punjab upset?

Summing up the sentiment, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP from Anandpur Sahib, Malvinder Singh Kang, said the Bill that seeks to include Chandigarh in Article 240 of the Constitution of India would mean that Chandigarh will become an Independent UT and Punjab will be divested of its capital.

“Now, we have a right on Chandigarh. Punjab’s Governor is also the Administrator of Chandigarh. Haryana Governor is not the Administrator. If the status changes, this would mean Punjab no longer has the right to its capital.”

He questioned if anywhere in the world a parent state has been deprived of its capital, “Where in the world has a parent state not been given its rightful capital? Punjab uses it as its capital. The state claims that it is our capital. Our officers are posted in Chandigarh in a 60:40 ratio (Punjab and Haryana).”

“The Centre has uploaded the bulletin of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, listing the Bill on Saturday, at a time when the Punjab government is commemorating the supreme sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur. It is being done at this time. I can say that it is against a certain community. The BJP hates Punjab and a certain community.”

The AAP MP also said that even if the Centre appointed the Governor, the appointment of the Lt Governor, provided for under the Bill, would be made directly by the President of India after the recommendation of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

‘Conspiracy against Punjab’

“We are living with the hope that Chandigarh will be given to us one day. The Bill smacks of a conspiracy against us, that our hope should be dashed to the ground. It is discrimination.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann raised the issue of Chandigarh being the exclusive capital of Punjab at the North Zone Council meet, chaired by Amit Shah, on Monday. The AAP leader said that the government had no clue that the Centre was planning this move.

“The bulletin, uploaded on Saturday, has come as a bolt from the blue for us. We did not know this was coming. Mann Sahib had raised the issue in the meeting, as it turned out to be a strong sentiment during the Panjab University issue.”

AAP senior spokesperson Neel Garg said, “The Chandigarh Administrator is the Punjab Governor by default. That means Punjab has the right to Chandigarh. The President of India appoints the Governor, who also administers the city. This clearly shows our right to the capital. Once the Punjab Governor would cease to be the Administrator, Punjab’s rights would be lost,” he said.

The Centre will introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 in the upcoming Winter session of Parliament, beginning December 1. The move has drawn stiff opposition from the ruling AAP and the Opposition Congress in Punjab, with both saying the BJP-led Centre is trying to weaken the border state’s rightful claim to Chandigarh, which it currently shares with Haryana as a joint capital. The BJP has, however, not reacted yet.

Chandigarh will remain an integral part of Punjab, says Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in a statement, called it a draconian move against the state, adding the “state government will not allow any conspiracy of the BJP-led NDA government to snatch Chandigarh from the state”.

“Chandigarh was, is and will ever remain an integral part of the state adding that the amendment being proposed by the Union government to include the capital city of Punjab in Article 240 of the Constitution of India, in alignment with other Union territories, in the ensuing session, will not be allowed. He said that though every parent state has sole right over its capital but grave injustice had been meted out to the state by denying its Capital to Punjab,” said Mann.

The Chief Minister said that there was hardly any parallel to it, that the parent state has been devoid of capital, as in the case of Punjab. He said that nobody can deny that, as the parent state, Punjab has the sole right to its capital city, Chandigarh, but successive governments at the Centre have committed a grave injustice by denying the state its capital.

Congress also joins the chorus

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, “Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and any attempt to snatch it away will have serious repercussions.” He urged CM Mann to immediately take up the matter with the Centre “to nip the proposal, if any, in the bud before it is too late”.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa, called for unity across the state’s political spectrum, warning that the Bill proposed by “the BJP-led Union Government is a clear attempt to weaken Punjab’s historical, constitutional, and emotional claim over its own capital”.

A Punjab BJP leader said they would issue a statement on Sunday. He said they have been made to understand that on November 1, 1966, when Punjab was reorganised, Chandigarh was administered independently by the chief secretary.

He said that during militancy, it was decided that the Punjab Governor would be the Administrator of Chandigarh. Peace has now returned to Punjab, and there will be no dilution of Punjab’s right over Chandigarh. “Still, we will discuss and take it up with our party seniors,” he said.

In August 2016, the Centre sought to restore the earlier practice of appointing an independent administrator, appointing former IAS officer K J Alphons to the top post. However, the Punjab government, led by Parkash Singh Badal, whose Shiromani Akali Dal was an ally of the BJP and part of the NDA, and other parties, including the Congress and AAP, had opposed the move.