Uttrakhand– Rights of Sikhs will remain unchanged, assures Govt

The representative of the Akali Dal in the Union Cabinet, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Minister for Urban Employment, reported to have given his consent to the Bill as it protected rights relating to land holdings.

It has also been decided that while the city of Haridwar and Rishikesh would be part of Uttrakhand, the rural Haridwar would remain with Uttar Pradesh.

Though the Loktantrik Congress has opposed the move to include Haridwar city in the newly carved Uttrakhand, the Union Cabinet went ahead with the proposal on the ground that the matter be better left to the UP Assembly to decide.

The Government was also considering de-linking the creation of three states simultaneously. While there is stiff resistance to create Vananchal and Uttrakhand, there is none in the case of Chhatisgarh. Therefore, the Bill to create Chhatisgarh state will be given priority after the opinion of the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly is obtained.

The three bills are likely to be sent to the President for his consent and thereafter, would be dispatched to the respective states for their response.