Punjab CM Mann, Congress, SAD oppose Bill to allow Prez make legislations for Chandigarh directly

Political leaders in Punjab, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Saturday vehemently opposed a Constitution Amendment Bill, which is set to be introduced in Parliament, to include Chandigarh under Article 240 that empowers the President to make regulations for the Union Territory and legislate directly.

Related news: Government lists Bill that could pave way for L-G to administer Chandigarh

Punjab has staked its claim on Chandigarh. In a recent meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had reiterated that the Union Territory should be immediately transferred to it.

On Saturday, Mann said his government will not allow any “conspiracy” of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to “snatch” Chandigarh from the state.

The Centre will bring the Constitution (131^st Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, beginning December 1, according to a bulletin of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

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

This could result in the Union Territory of Chandigarh having an independent administrator, like when it had an independent chief secretary in the past. Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

In a statement, CM Mann asserted that Chandigarh “was, is and will ever remain an integral part of Punjab”.

He added that the amendment being proposed by the Union Government to include the capital city of Punjab in Article 240 of the Constitution, in alignment with other Union Territories, will not be allowed.

Though every parent state has the sole right over its capital, a “grave injustice” had been meted out by denying Punjab its capital city, Mann said. “Punjab has the sole right to its capital city.”

“It is a naked truth that the BJP-led Union Government is doing grave injustice to the state by conspiring to snatch our capital from us,” he said.

The Chief Minister said there was hardly any parallel that a parent state has been devoid of its capital, as in the case of Punjab. “Nobody can deny the fact that being the parent state, Punjab has the sole right to its capital city of Chandigarh,” he stressed.

He claimed that time and again, successive governments at the Centre have denied the state its capital. The Narendra Modi government is rubbing salt into the wounds of the state, Mann alleged.

“As per universally accepted law, Chandigarh was a part and parcel of Punjab, and it must be given back to the state,” he said.

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring warned against “taking away” Chandigarh from Punjab. Terming the move to introduce the bill “totally uncalled for”, he hoped that better sense would prevail at the Centre and it would not legislate any such thing.

“Chandigarh belongs to Punjab, and any attempt to snatch it away will have serious repercussions.” AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang too criticised the Centre for its proposed move, calling it a “daylight robbery.”

“The wounds inflicted by the Centre’s assault on Panjab University have not yet dried, and already another blow has been struck: the Constitution (131^st Amendment) Bill seeking to drag Chandigarh under Article 240.

“This is not reform; this is daylight robbery. This moment demands unity. Every MP from Punjab, across all political lines, must stand together, forge a common front, and defeat this amendment in the Winter Session,” Kang added.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal appealed to the Union Government not to introduce the Bill in Parliament.

Doing so would amount to betraying and discriminating against the brave Punjabis who sacrificed the most for the country, and going back on all commitments made to Punjab to hand over Chandigarh to it, he said.

In a statement, Badal said the Constitution (131^st Amendment) Bill sought to take the Union territory permanently out of Punjab’s administrative and political control.

“It seeks to end Punjab’s claim to Chandigarh as its capital city,” he claimed.

Describing the proposed amendment as an “assault on the rights of Punjab”, Badal said, “This is also against federalism and amounts to discriminating against Punjabis who have been in the vanguard of the freedom struggle as well as protection of the borders of the country, besides ushering in the green revolution which ensured food security to the nation.”

Asserting that the proposed Bill would also go against the solemn commitments given by the Centre to restore Chandigarh to Punjab, Badal said, “The Union government accepted in principle to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab in 1970.”

Punjabis were feeling betrayed and discriminated against by these measures, he claimed.