After Jakhar, BJP leader Kalia urges Governor to 'stop' Chandigarh land transfer to Haryana
A day after BJP Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar urged Prime Minister to get the decision reversed on allocating 12 acres of land in Chandigarh to Haryana for the Legislative Assembly, former BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia has on Friday written to the Governor of Punjab asking him to act on the matter strictly according to the Constitutional propriety.
Even though Kalia maintains that his stand is not against that of the BJP that has given environment clearance for the purpose, but his side is very clearly in favour of his missive to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.
It reads, "The environmental clearance of the 12 acres of UT land by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India has raised many eyebrows in Punjab. The Governor of Punjab must act strictly according to Constitutional propriety to protect the interest, assets and faith of Punjab."
He elaborates on the issue saying, "The Governor of Punjab has been entrusted with the twin responsibilities of administration - that of the Constitutional head of Punjab and as the Administrator of Chandigarh. Its genesis stands rooted in the award dated January 29, 1970, by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in which she declared that Chandigarh would become a permanent part of Punjab as its capital, and that Haryana would be granted Rs 10 crore to build its new capital."
Kalia has further written, "The Punjab Reorganisation Act was passed by the Indian Parliament on September 18, 1966, separating a territory from Punjab, most of which formed Haryana. Some of it was transferred to Himachal Pradesh, then a union territory while Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab, was made a temporary UT to serve as the provisional capital of both Punjab, the parent state, and Haryana."
Maintaining a clear stand in favour of Punjab on the issue, he says, "It is an accepted principle that capital goes to parent state when a state is to be divided on linguistic basis. The dictum had been meticulously followed when the states were divided on the linguistic basis after Independence but the reorganisation of Punjab was an exception where two states Punjab, the parent state, and Haryana were made to share the capital of undivided Punjab in 60:40 ratio in the newly carved UT called Chandigarh."
He writes, "The said decision has reverberated another agitation demanding Chandigarh to be the sole capital of Punjab by all Punjabis. The Governor of Punjab being the Constitutional head of state is the protectorate of interest and assets of the state. The hard-earned peace of Punjab rests upon the delicate structure of faith. Every care should be taken to maintain its delicate balance."
