Opinion AAP won large mandate because it promised to address Punjab’s crises. It should get down to work

The run-up to the recently held Punjab elections saw political parties making tall promises to right wrongs in the state — the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab was not one of them. The Aam Aadmi Party that swept the polls, winning 92 of the 117 seats, promised to revamp the economy, agriculture, industry, health, and education of the state. In turn, the people have been expecting big ticket announcements from the new government. But the Bhagwant Mann government’s reaction to the Union government notification applying central service rules to the employees of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, comes as a let down.

Soon after the notification that followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Chandigarh, the Bhagwant Mann government called a special assembly session on April 1, and passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the state. The resolution has opened a Pandora’s box, with both Haryana and Chandigarh also calling similar sessions. In its emergency Vidhan Sabha session on Tuesday, Haryana raked up all the unresolved issues between the two neighbours since their birth in 1966, and urged the Centre to transfer the contentious SYL canal to the state. With the two states squabbling about its status, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has also jumped into the fray by calling a special house meeting on Thursday to reiterate its continuation as a Union Territory. With this acrimonious exchange coming only days after the installation of a new government, it threatens to push back the hopes and expectations that lay beneath the large AAP mandate — of change from the traditional politics that would deliver the state from its multiple crises. From agrarian distress, unemployment and exodus of students, to an industry in flight, inept education, and unaffordable healthcare to the sliding law and order — innumerable issues are crying out for the attention of Chief Minister Mann.

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Instead of expending his energy on emotive issues, CM Mann must get his priorities right. He had promised to hit the ground running, said he would make every day count. He should do that. Punjab has many well-wishers who want to see it regain its lost glory. He should explore and implement the solutions they offer. Given the magnitude of the challenge he faces, five years is a short time. A systemic overhaul requires constant work, and monitoring. The grandstanding can wait.