Centres move on Chandigarh admn dangerous: SAD

Punjab Governor not to hold the charge of Chief Administrator after Nov 16 when Rodriguess term ends....

The Centres move to divest the Punjab Governor of his additional charge as Chief Administrator of Chandigarh has met with vehement opposition from the Shiromani Akali Dal. The SAD on Saturday termed it a dangerous move fraught with serious repercussions due to Punjabs strategic importance as a border state.

As per the Centres proposal,the Punjab Governor will not hold the charge of Chief Administrator of Chandigarh after November 16 the day the tenure of the present Governor of Punjab,Gen S F Rodrigues (retd),ends. Therefter,the Chief Commissioner currently Advisor to the Governor of Punjab will work under the direct control of the Home Ministry,a pattern prevalent till the mid-1980s. Thereafter,the Punjab Governor had been given dual charge as UT Administrator,when militancy in the state was at its peak,to ensure better coordination between Punjab and Chandigarh.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said,We have decided that after the Punjab Governors tenure ends,Chandigarh shall no longer be governed by the Punjab Governor. Instead there would be a Chief Commissioner. Pillai said that it was too early to say who the next Chief Commissioner would be. We are yet to decide on this. There shall be various aspects which would be looked into, he said.

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At the end of a two-day Vichar Sammelan here at hotel Peterhoff,the SAD adopted a strongly-worded resolution reminding the Centre of the circumstances under which the decision was taken and the implications of tinkering with the arrangement. Raising the demand for vacating Punjabs capital city,the party authorised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram to lodge the state governments protest.

After all,the decision to give dual charge of Chandigarh to the Punjab Governor was taken after serious deliberations at the Centre. If the Congress government at the Centre decides to do away with the current system,this is totally unacceptable to the Shiromani Akali Dal. We are totally opposed to it,said Sukhbir Badal,Punjab Deputy Chief minister and president of the SAD.

The partys resolution,later released to the media by Sukhbir Badal says,There is no rationale behind denying Punjab its legitimate right in this regard. There has been a totally unjustified and inordinate delay in transferring the city to Punjab and Punjabis have been forced to make unparalleled sacrifices in a prolonged struggle forced on them by Centres apathy,

The SAD called upon all Punjabis,irrespective of their ideological or political affiliations to unite for the cause of securing justice for the state with regard to Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas left out of Punjab and against the brazen discrimination meted out to the people of the state on the issue of its river waters. The Riparian Principle,followed nationally and internationally in every river water dispute,continues to be flouted with immunity in the case of Punjab. This discrimination must end, the party said.

With ENS,Chandigarh

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