The Centre proposes to include Chandigarh under the ambit of Article 240 of the Constitution that empowers the President to make regulations for the Union Territory and legislate directly. This will pave the way for the appointment of an independent Administrator or Lt Governor, a move that is likely to weaken Punjab’s claim to the city.
According to a bulletin of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the government will introduce The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 in the upcoming winter session of Parliament that gets underway December 1.
This has led to an uproar in Punjab where the ruling AAP and Opposition Congress are targeting the BJP-led Centre, saying it is a move to weaken the state’s claim to Chandigarh, which it currently shares with Haryana as a joint capital.
Currently, the Punjab Governor also holds additional charge as the Administrator of the UT of Chandigarh.
The Bill seeks to include Chandigarh in Article 240, in alignment with other UTs without legislatures such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Puducherry (when its Assembly is dissolved or suspended).
After Punjab was reorganised on November 1, 1966, Chandigarh was administered independently by the Chief Secretary. But that changed on June 1, 1984. Ever since, Chandigarh was administered by the Punjab Governor and the Chief Secretary’s position was converted to Adviser to the UT Administrator.
In August 2016, the Centre sought to restore the earlier practice of having an independent administrator by appointing former IAS officer K J Alphons to the post. But the then Punjab government, led by Parkash Singh Badal, whose SAD was an ally of the BJP and a part of the NDA, and other parties, including the Congress and AAP, opposed the move.
The Centre’s new move comes days after the meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Faridabad where Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reiterated Punjab’s claim to Chandigarh and demanded its immediate transfer.
In a post on X Saturday, Mann said the proposed amendment is against the interests of Punjab. “We will not allow the conspiracy to succeed. Chandigarh, built by uprooting the villages of Punjab, belongs solely to Punjab. We will not let our right slip away… We will take whatever steps are necessary,” he said.
In a statement, AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Vikramjit Singh Sahney said, “With the new law, Chandigarh is likely to be administered by an independent administrator. It would have similar administration rules such as Lakshadweep and others”.
He said Chandigarh was historically Punjab’s. “Chandigarh was made capital of Punjab after Partition as the then capital, Lahore, went to Pakistan. After reorganisation in 1966, it was made joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Then under multiple accords, Centre promised to make Chandigarh the exclusive capital of Punjab,” he said.
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 Mann to immediately take up the matter with the Centre “to nip the proposal, if any, in the bud before it is too late”.
The proposed inclusion of Chandigarh in Article 240 will result in the appointment of an independent Administrator or Lt Governor for the Union Territory. Ever since 1984, the Punjab Governor has been holding charge of the Chandigarh Administrator. Punjab parties see the new move as a bid to weaken the state’s claim to Chandigarh which currently serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
Partap Singh Bajwa, Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, 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”.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal appealed to the Centre not to introduce the Bill, which seeks to end “Punjab’s claim to Chandigarh as its capital city”.
Describing the proposed legislation as “an assault on the rights” of Punjab, Badal said “this is also against federalism and amounts to discriminating against Punjabis who have been in the vanguard of the freedom struggle as well as protection of the borders of the country besides ushering in the green revolution which ensured food security to the nation”.
