SAD slams Centre's proposed Bill, calls it 'direct attack on Punjab' over Chandigarh

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has strongly opposed the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, proposed by the Centre.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has called up the core committee meeting tomorrow at its headquarters in Chandigarh to prepare for a decisive response against it.

Terming it as a direct attack on Punjab and ‘betrayal to brave Punjabis who have sacrificed the most for the nation’, Sukhbir said the proposal would permanently remove Chandigarh from Punjab’s administrative control.

He said that it would be in violation of the past commitments, including the Centre’s 1970 decision to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab and the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, which set January 1986 as the deadline for the transfer.

“Transferring Chandigarh to a Union Territory under this amendment is against the interests of Punjab, this is equal to breaking all promises made by the Government of India about handing over Chandigarh to Punjab. By depriving us of our own capital, previous Congress governments of Delhi also earned discrimination with Punjab. This Bill now wants to end the little administrative and political rights, which are left with Punjab on Chandigarh and thus will permanently end the right of Punjab on Chandigarh,” he said.

He reiterated that Punjab’s right on Chandigarh was non-negotiable and no compromise on it was accepted.

“I assure the people of Punjab that this anti-Punjab Amendment Bill — which is a direct attack on the federal structure by the Centre — will be strongly confronted by the SAD at all levels and will not be allowed to be implemented at any cost,” he said.

The Centre has proposed to include the Union Territory of Chandigarh under the ambit of Article 240 of the Constitution, which empowers the president to make regulations for the UT and legislate directly.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 has been scheduled to be introduced in the upcoming Winter session of Parliament, beginning December 1, 2025, as per a bulletin of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Bill seeks to include the Union Territory of Chandigarh in Article 240, in alignment with other UTs without legislatures such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Puducherry (when its Legislative Assembly is dissolved or suspended).

This opens the door to an independent administrator in the UT of Chandigarh and would mark a significant shift from the current arrangement, under which the Punjab governor serves as Chandigarh’s administrator.

If enacted, the amendment would empower the President to frame regulations for Chandigarh, and is seen as paving the way apparently for the appointment of a lieutenant governor to administer the city.