Chandigarh, July 9
A tweet by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann seeking land for a Punjab Vidhan Sabha kicked up a political storm in the state, with the Opposition warning that any such move would weaken the state’s claim on Chandigarh.
It’s a conspiracy
Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and yet the CM is begging for space in Punjab’s territory for a Vidhan Sabha building. This is a conspiracy at work to deny Punjab its rights. Sukhbir Badal, SAD President
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring criticised the Union Home Ministry’s reported move to provide Haryana land for its Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh and the Punjab Government for backing it.
Warring maintained that Chandigarh belonged to Punjab and there was no logic in allotting land to Haryana to raise a Vidhan Sabha building in Punjab’s capital. Also, this would be a violation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and the Rajiv-Longowal accord, he pointed out.
Expressing shock over Chief Minister Mann’s statement, Warring asked: “Why does Punjab need to construct another Vidhan Sabha building?”
In a dig at CM Mann, SAD president Sukhbir Badal remarked: “Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and yet the CM is begging for space in Punjab’s territory for a Vidhan Sabha building.” He saw a conspiracy at work to deny Punjab its legitimate rights.
“It’s a strange coincidence that the Union Home Minister, Haryana Chief Minister and Punjab CM have issued identical statements on the subject,” he observed.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann too seeks land for Assembly, invites ire
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