Centre retracts, says no intention to pilot bill to bracket Chandigarh with other UTs in Parliament 

As the uproar over a proposed legislation to bracket Chandigarh with other UTs grew, the Centre on Sunday said it had no plans to pilot the related draft law in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

Retracting from previous plans (the Centre had listed in Parliament bulletin the Constitution 131st Amendment Bill) to bring Chandigarh on par with other UTs like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Puducherry, the Home Ministry said the Bill would not be tabled in the winter session starting December 1.

“The proposal to simplify the process of law-making exclusively by the Central Government for the Union Territory of Chandigarh is currently under consideration at the level of the Central Government. No final decision has been taken on this proposal," the MHA said on X.

The ministry said the proposal does not in any way involve altering the governance and administrative arrangements of Chandigarh or the traditional relations of Chandigarh with Punjab or Haryana.

"An appropriate decision will be taken only after adequate consultation with all stakeholders, keeping in mind the interests of Chandigarh. There is no need for concern on this matter. The Central Government has no intention of presenting any bill to this effect in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament," the Centre clarified after the Punjab BJP also said it would demand the retraction of the proposed bill which hurts the sentiments of Punjab.