Sharma too favours UT status for city

CHANDIGARH, Aug 22: The two main contestants for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat - Krishan Lal Sharma of the BJP and Pawan Kumar Bansal of ...

CHANDIGARH, Aug 22: The two main contestants for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat – Krishan Lal Sharma of the BJP and Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress, today claimed to solve the problems of Chandigarh, in their bid to win over the electorate.

In an interaction, at a function organised by Panchnad Research Institute at Rotary Centre in Sector 18 here today, BJP’s Krishan Lal Sharma followed suit in supporting the cause of the residents of Chandigarh in retaining its UT status. Earlier, he had stated that the issue had been left to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for a permanent solution. Bansal, on the other hand, reiterated his earlier stand of granting UT status to Chandigarh. And said that the granting of UT status was under threat ever since the BJP came to power. Alleging that the "BJP talked more and worked less". Bansal and Sharma, also supported a demand to grant "A" Class status to Chandigarh, extention of lal dora in villages and change in building byelaws in the city, which had gone redundant over the years.

Trading charges, each of the two leaders claimed that if voted to power, he would prove a saviour for the city residents.

While Sharma stated that he would form a five-year policy for the development of Chandigarh, Bansal went a step ahead by stating that he supported a 20-year comprehensive policy for the City, required for its future planning. While Sharma kept harping on Vajpayee’s personality and Kargil victories, making them his major poll planks, Bansal said that Kargil had been won over by the soldiers, not Vajpayee.

On the stability factor too, Bansal charged the BJP of having proved stability by the fall of two successive governments, besides being instrumental in the fall of the governments in Haryana, and Sharma charged the Congress for conspiring in the fall of BJP governments. On the issue of prime ministerial candidate, Sharma said Vajpayee would prove to be a better PM, as he was "able, capable and experienced", while Bansal said the decision on the PM would be taken at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary party.

Sharma said that Vajpayee had proved his concern for the city by announcing a solution to the helmet issue, Bansal laughed saying that BJP skirted major issues and let the PM dwell on the helmet issue. While Sharma talked of party discipline, citing the example of former MP Satya Pal Jain who supports him, despite his candidature being cancelled, Bansal charged the BJP of according stepmotherly treatment to the city.