Status of Chandigarh is Punjab's major faultline with political dimensions, issue is not that of central rules for UT employees
Mann govt
faces first political challenge as Modi government stirs Punjab’s Chandigarh faultline
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
Union Home
Minister Amit Shah yesterday sparked one of Punjab’s historical fault-line with
his announcement that central service rules would be applicable in this union
territory.
The
announcement has provoked strong reaction from the non-BJP political parties in
this politically sensitive border state
of Punjab as this amounts to denying
this state its legitimate claim over the City Beautiful that was built as its
capital but converted to union territory as a temporary arrangement in 1966. This
status turned into a deep faultline in
Punjab’s political domain. The issue is not just that of rules for the
employees.
Punjab has
witnessed several struggles by the Shiromani Akali Dal over the years since
then with transfer of Chandigarh being one of the major issues.
Former minister
and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today rightly raised this issue in the Lok
Sabha asserting that the application of central rules to Chandigarh employees
was against the spirit of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966. Punjab rules
were applicable in Chandigarh so far. Gurjit Singh Aujla, Congress MP from Amritsar, also took it up.
The Aam
Aadmi Party government headed by Bhagwant Mann faces this first major challenge
in the political domain with this announcement.
Punjab’s
claim over Chandigarh has all along been highly emotional issue although this
is now more of a notional.
The irony is
neither Punjab has forcefully taken up this issue since 1985 nor the government
at the centre has expressed any inclination to take a final decision on the
status of this City Beautiful. This city over the years has become the hub of
growth of this region that is known as the tricity with Punjab on the three
sides and Haryana on the fourth.
Punjab also
developed a new township named as New Chandigarh during the Akali Dal government
headed by Parkash Singh Badal.
The
announcement by Shah has further reinforced the perception in Punjab of being
discriminated against by the centre.
Discrimination
against Punjab used to be one of the themes of Akali Dal’s religio-political
discourse for years and at the centre of its anti-Congress and anti-centre theme.
Now in power
at the centre is Bharatiya Janata Party with which Akali Dal was in alliance
for more than two decades that ended under pressure from the agrarian struggle
commanded by the Punjab farmers.
However, the
Akali Dal leadership has not so far equated the present BJP regime with the
earlier Congress regime so far although party stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra
had said as far back as later part of 1998 that there was no difference between
the two so far as the Punjab issues were concerned.
All the
non-BJP main political parties have now asserted their positions and the issue
has been raised in the Lok Sabha.
However, at
the political level, it is the AAP government for which this issue poses a
major challenge even though at the moment it is more of notional as there is
very remote chance of this city being transferred to Punjab. Such a decision could
be dictated only by extreme political exigency.
Harsimrat
today proposed that the Rajiv-Longowal accord should be ratified in the Lok
Sabha to facilitate transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab.
This accord,
that was signed in 1985, was tabled in the House at that time.
Parkash
Singh Badal and Tohra were the two senior most leaders who had opposed its
signing and refused to accompany party president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal
to Delhi. However, he had ratified it while applying for ticket in the 1985
Assembly election.
Sant
Longowal was shot dead for signing this accord within days on August 20, 1985.
This accord ultimately ended up in the dustbin of history.
The Akali
Dal, when in power in Punjab and part of the government at the centre, never
took up such issues.
The party
should share the blame now. The Congress in Punjab was never identified with
the interests of this state.
While this
situation poses a challenge to Bhagwant Mann government, the opposition parties
might like to exploit the situation for their own revival. The Akali Dal has
been dumped by the people of Punjab in the Assembly election.
However, now
is the time for the political leaders to redeem themselves.
They should
now come forward to make sacrifice to protect the interests of Punjab rather
than pushing the people towards protests.
A beginning
can by made by going on indefinite fast but not like Sant Fateh Singh.
Well analysed.
ReplyDeleteThis is more an emotional issue for the people of Punjab in general and political parties in particular as it has been bone of contention since, the bifurcation of Punjab.
The main political party Sharomani Akali Dal and its senior leadership had used it as an emotional tool during elections.However, despite being in power in Punjab with their alliance parter BJP holding forte in Delhi, they have never made any serious attempt to raise the issue of transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, let us not talk of other related issues agreed in Punjab Accord.The irony is that they(Badal’s)we’re always chasing a berth for their kin in the Union Cabinet.