The emotive issue surrounding the contending claims on Union Territory (UT) Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, festered once again on Saturday after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced that the Centre has accepted the State’s demand for land in Chandigarh towards the construction of an additional building of the Assembly.
Citing space crunch, Mr. Lal raised the demand during the 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Jaipur on Saturday. He said even though 56 years have passed since the State’s creation, Haryana has not got its full rights.
Soon after the announcement, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged the Central government to allot land to Punjab similarly. “I appeal to the Central government that on the lines of Haryana, Punjab should also be allotted land in Chandigarh to build its own Assembly. There has been a demand for a long time that the Punjab and Haryana High Court should also be separated... for this as well, the Central government should kindly provide land in Chandigarh,” he said in a tweet.
