Akali Dal Opposes New Designation of Advisor’s Role to Chief Secretary in Chandigarh
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Chandigarh, Jan 8 (NationPress) Senior Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday cautioned the Union government against proceeding with the rumored change to designate the post of Advisor to the Punjab Governor-cum-Chandigarh Administrator as the Chief Secretary.
He asserted that this decision “is being taken with the active collusion of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab and its Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.”
“Mann had officially accepted Haryana’s claim over Chandigarh by consenting to the establishment of the Haryana Legislative Assembly in Chandigarh,” Badal pointed out in a statement.
“He has consistently shown an anti-Punjab stance regarding Panjab University and the PGI,” the Akali leader stated, adding that the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab is a settled matter, agreed upon by two Prime Ministers and endorsed by the Union Cabinet along with both Houses of Parliament following the Memorandum of Settlement on Punjab in July 1985.
“The question of transferring the Hindi-speaking regions to Haryana in exchange for Chandigarh has also been conclusively resolved. Two commissions established by the Union government have firmly ruled in favor of Punjab, indicating that there are no Hindi-speaking areas in the state that can be ceded to Haryana,” Badal remarked.
“The only pending issue from the 1966 reorganization of Punjab is to reclaim our constitutional rights regarding the river waters as a riparian state, the transfer of Chandigarh, and other Punjabi-speaking regions that were excluded from the state, along with the restoration of the state's control over entities such as the BBMB, educational and cultural institutions, etc. Punjab seeks nothing more than its rightful entitlements as guaranteed by the Constitution,” he explained.
The Akali leader criticized that instead of rectifying the unconstitutional discrimination faced by the people of Punjab on these matters, successive governments in New Delhi have perpetuated this stepmotherly treatment towards the state through a “politics of deceit and discrimination against the patriotic citizens of Punjab, who have always shouldered the burden of national security as a border state.”
“We have never shied away from our responsibilities to the nation. However, the anti-Punjab decisions of Union governments have been undermining the nation’s backbone and agricultural stronghold. This must come to an end,” Badal expressed vehemently.
He condemned the political parties based in Delhi, along with certain biased opinion makers, who have historically diluted and weakened Punjab’s position by directing their energies against those advocating for the state.
“Rather than supporting efforts for justice for the state, their sole agenda has been to relentlessly attack the Akali Dal. They repeat the narratives provided to them by anti-Punjab entities. They claim that the Akalis never represent Punjab while in power.
“They are aware of their falsehood because they know that Parkash Singh Badal as Chief Minister challenged the discriminatory river water policies against Punjab in the Supreme Court,” he added.
“As Chief Minister, he defied the Supreme Court’s directives regarding the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Additionally, as CM, he disregarded the top court’s order and returned the SYL lands to the farmers, at no cost,” he concluded.
