CAPITAL CONFLICT

Union home minister Amit Shah lit the spark, and Punjab and Haryana renewed their battle over Chandigarh

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

Days after the Punjab ass­embly passed a resolution reiterating the state’s claim on Chandigarh, legislators from Haryana convened a special session of their Vid­han Sabha on April 5 to stake a counter claim. The two northern states have a long­standing dispute over the ownership of their joint capi­tal, along with residual issues from the 1966 Punjab Reorganisation Act that carved out modern­day Punjab and Haryana. The latest round of hostilities was triggered after Union home minister Amit Shah, on a visit to Chandigarh on March 27, announced that Central Civil Services rules will apply on employees of the Union territory (UT), instead of Punjab Civil Services Rules, from April 1.

This has angered most political parties in Punjab who see it as “another big blow to the rights of Punjab”. The Sukhbir Badal­led Shiromani Akali Dal, looking to spring back into reckoning after the assembly poll rout, was the first to react, push­ ing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to escalate the issue further and pass the resolution at a specially convened session. Mann also threatened protests from the “streets to Parliament” against the implementation of central civil services rules in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh is a sensitive issue for the Sikh­majority state, which lost its original capital, Lahore, during Partition and has not had a capital of its own since. Chandigarh, goes the overriding sentiment, was built to compensate for this loss.