CHANDIGARH: A day after Union home minister Amit Shah announced to apply central civil service rules to the employees of the Chandigarh administration, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said his government will fight strongly for its “rightful claim over Chandigarh”. Meanwhile, the SAD has requested Mann to call an all-party meeting so that a united pitch can be made against Chandigarh being made a permanent union territory in violation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act.
Mann tweeted: “Central Govt has been stepwise imposing officers and personnel from other states and services in Chandigarh administration. This goes against the letter and spirit of Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966. Punjab will fight strongly for its rightful claim over Chandigarh…”
This follows the Centre’s decision on new rules governing the Chandigarh administration employees, who are currently working under the Punjab service rules but will now come under the central civil services rules.
Later in the day, addressing a press conference, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the BJP at the Centre of adopting a dictatorial attitude and of continuously imposing anti-Punjab decisions. “If they don’t refrain from it then AAP will launch a fight from the road to Parliament. The people of Punjab would never allow the Centre’s plans to end Punjab’s participation in the Chandigarh administration, the Panjab University and the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to succeed,” he said.
“Since the formation of the AAP government in Punjab under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has intensified its attacks on the rights of Punjab. The Modi government has been implementing decisions for a long time to abolish Punjab’s share in the Panjab University, BBMB and Chandigarh administration. Now, Union home minister Amit Shah has decided to remove Punjab Service Rules in Chandigarh administration and implement Central Service Rules. The verdict is one of coercion and dictatorship, which is a grand conspiracy against the AAP government in Punjab,” he added. Cheema said the Modi government had neither talked to the Punjab government nor had any such demand been made by the employees, regarding removal of service rules of Punjab from the Chandigarh administration. “The Modi government is repealing the agreements and rulings of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, which are against the rights of the state and the federal structure,” he said.
Slamming Shah’s announcement on Sunday, SAD’s Prem Singh Chandumajra said, “Punjab’s AAP government should make the Centre understand that Chandigarh as UT was an ad hoc arrangement. The SAD has nothing against the UT employees, who should know that Punjab can also protect their interests. We are against pitting the employees against civil society and using it to rob Punjab of its rights over Chandigarh.”
An Akali delegation will soon meet the President to seek rollback of the decision. Chandumajra said extending the central civil service rules to Chandigarh will violate the Punjab Reorganisation Act along with the Rajiv-Longowal accord and recommendations of the subsequent commissions, which held that Punjab had a majority share in the UT administration.
The SAD also asked the CM to explain why he had not taken up the dilution of Punjab’s stake in the BBMB with the Prime Minister in their meeting. “Had the CM registered a strong protest, the Centre would have desisted from going ahead with the move. Bhagwant Mann also remained silent when Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar sought Punjab’s river water for Haryana. These issues should be taken up at an all-party meeting,” Chandumajra added.
