Haryana to hold special Assembly session on Chandigarh transfer issue

Haryana had, has, and will continue to have a right, to Chandigarh: CM Manohar Lal

Days after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution to immediately transfer the Union Territory of Chandigarh to Punjab, the Haryana Government has summoned a special session of its Assembly on April 5.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held in Chandigarh on Sunday, chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. “It was decided in this meeting that a special session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha will be called on April 5, 2022 at 11 a.m. A letter in this regard will be sent to the Governor of Haryana and the Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha,” said an official statement.

Sources said that the Haryana Government could move a resolution against Punjab for its resolution on the transfer of Chandigarh. It could also raise the controversial Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue on Haryana’s share of river water from Punjab.

Mr. Lal said that Haryana had, has, and will continue to have a right, to Chandigarh. “The government stands firmly on this issue and the people of the State are also with them,” he said, adding it has only been sometime since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formed its government in Punjab, and it has already started raising such a controversial issue, which is incorrect.

On April 1, the Punjab State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to immediately transfer the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, to Punjab, in the backdrop of Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.

Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, termed the resolution passed by the Punjab Government as a “political jumla”. “Chandigarh was, is, and will be of Haryana, and no one will be allowed to harm the interests of the State and they are willing to make any sacrifice to protect the interests of the State,” Mr. Hooda said at a press conference in Rohtak.

He said that all political parties will have to show solidarity in the interest of the State and all parties will have to clarify their opinion on the issue. “There is a dispute with Punjab not only over the capital but also over Hindi speaking areas and water from the SYL. In such a situation, everyone will have to strongly defend the rights of the State,” he said.