Akali Dal opposes Haryana's proposal to establish Assembly in Chandigarh
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Nov, 2022 11:37 AM
Chandigarh, Nov 20 (IANS) Former Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Sunday appealed to Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit to deny the Haryana government's land swap proposal to establish a separate Assembly here, asserting the proposal was against constitutional propriety.
Reacting to a submission made to the UT Administrator by the Haryana Assembly Speaker, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader in a letter to the Administrator said Chandigarh was an inalienable part of Punjab and the Haryana government could not apply for a land swap without taking the consent of the parent state.
"If such requests are taken into consideration, they will create anarchy as nothing stops the Punjab and Himachal governments to put in requests for land swaps. The application is also against Section 3 of the Constitution which makes it clear that only the Parliament can change the borders of a state with the consent of the President."
The SAD leader also apprised the Governor that the issue also concerned the sentiments of Punjabis which might get inflamed in the same manner as in the case of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) issue.
"Punjab has gone through a period of strife and nothing should be done which has the propensity to vitiate the atmosphere in the region. Haryana thinks it will strengthen its case in Chandigarh by establishing a separate Vidhan Sabha but it is playing with fire. SAD, on its part, is committed to opposing this insidious agenda vigorously in keeping with the sentiments of Punjabis who find this proposal intolerable and unacceptable."
Majithia also told the Administrator that the Haryana government's application was also in contravention of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the Rajiv Longowal Accord and also against the spirit of federalism as a unilateral decision on this request would be discriminatory towards Punjab.
Mann said the 254-km long Delhi-Katra highway will be constructed at a cost Rs 11,510 crore and will pass through nine districts of the state -- Jalandhar, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Patiala, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.
In a status report before Justice Anoop Chitkara's Bench, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhnaaz Singh said in view of the facts and circumstances, it is evident that there is sufficient prima facie evidence on record which reveals that the petitioner is the main conspirator, who hatched conspiracy with Gaurav Patial (accused) for eliminating Middukhera.
In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati over 16 years ago. His conviction on August 25, 2017 had led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured.
According to customs officials, "The gold was in the form of a paste which was wrapped in black tape in two packets. The total weight of the packets was 433 grams. After removing the tape and other impurities from gold, it weighs 397 grams."
The two accused -- Ankit Sersa and Sachin Chaudhary had been in the custody of the Delhi Police in an arms case. Chief metropolitan magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria granted their transit remand to the Mansa Police SIT team that is probing the murder of Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala.
Mann said most of the time they had to run pillar to post for getting their work done. The Chief Minister said this dedicated cell will be a single-window platform for the persons with disabilities to avail the benefits of these schemes.
