6 months ago
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The Centre’s connection to see the Union Territory (UT) of Chandigarh nether the ambit of Article 240 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to marque regulations for the UT and legislate directly, has raised a governmental furore successful Punjab. The authorities volition bring the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2025 successful the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, opening December 1, 2025, arsenic per a bulletin of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Political parties, including the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), deed retired astatine the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) implicit the projected instauration of the Bill, which would bring Chandigarh successful alignment with different UTs without legislatures. The assertion implicit Chandigarh, the associated superior of Punjab and Haryana, has been a delicate governmental contented ever since the Punjab Reorganisation Act of1966.
Punjab’s Leader of the Opposition and Congress person Partap Singh Bajwa took to societal media to criticise the move. “Chandigarh was created successful 1966 arsenic Punjab’s capital, with the Punjab Governor serving arsenic its Administrator for decades. Now the Centre’s 131st Amendment determination to propulsion Chandigarh nether Article 240 is thing abbreviated of snatching the metropolis distant from Punjab – an unfastened onslaught connected history, federalism, and Punjab’s rights. The BJP govt is pushing a politically loaded Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to recast Chandigarh similar immoderate different UT,” helium posted connected X.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal asked the Union authorities not to present the Bill, pointing retired that doing truthful would magnitude to “betraying and discriminating against brave Punjabis who had sacrificed the astir for the country” and going backmost connected each commitments made to Punjab to manus implicit Chandigarh to it. “It seeks to extremity Punjab’s assertion to Chandigarh arsenic its superior city,” helium said successful a statement.
AAP’s Lok Sabha MP Malvinder Kang termed the determination arsenic a “daylight robbery”. “This infinitesimal demands unity. Every MP from Punjab, crossed each governmental lines, indispensable basal together, forge a communal front, and decision this amendment successful the Winter Session,” helium posted connected X.
