GURUGRAM: On a day the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the state, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said the city will remain the joint capital of both states.
He also hailed the Union government's move to make central service rules applicable on employees of the union territory and accused the Punjab government of misleading people over the issue.
The Punjab Assembly passed the resolution on Friday, days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said now central service rules will apply to employees of the union territory, a move described as an encroachment on the state's rights by several parties.
"Chandigarh will remain the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Both states have several issues to discuss other than Chandigarh," Khattar told reporters here.
Khattar, who is a BJP leader, said the decision was taken by the Centre after considering demands and interests of UT employees.
The Punjab government is misleading the public on this issue, said the CM as he claimed that the move will benefit the employees "greatly".
Earlier, the employees of Chandigarh had to depend on the Punjab government for every single central government order, he added.
Previously, orders regarding allowances or other benefits issued by Union Government were implemented in Chandigarh only after Punjab issued a notification but now all these orders will be directly applicable to the UT employees, the CM said.
He said Punjab has not yet given the benefit of the 7th Pay Commission to its employees whereas Haryana had implemented the recommendations in 2016.
Employees of Chandigarh were also deprived of these benefits till now but now after the implementation of the new rules, they will get all these benefits, he said.
He said not only Punjab and Haryana, people of Himachal Pradesh also claim their share in Chandigarh.
"The Supreme Court in one of its judgments had said that under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, Himachal Pradesh too has the right to 7.19 per cent of Chandigarh's land.
It is a different matter that Himachal Pradesh has declared Shimla as its capital," he said Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were carved out of Punjab more that five decades ago.
Khattar also told reporters that Gurugram will be developed into a "global city" and a meeting in this regard with leading real estate developers from across the country was held here.
Based on the suggestions given in the meeting, the government will plan to develop Gurugram into a "global city", he said.
Mann on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "robbing" the state of its rights amid a political row over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent announcement that central service rules will apply to employees of Chandigarh.
Mann said this while winding up the discussion during the one-day special Assembly session, in which a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab was passed.
Mann, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had stormed to power in the just-concluded state Assembly polls, said 80 per cent of the sacrifices were made by people from Punjab in getting India freed.
And the prime minister of free India now is "robbing" the rights of Punjab, he said in the House.
Sharing his past experience as a parliamentarian, Mann exhorted all MPs and MLAs from the state to exhibit the same spirit of unity and bonhomie as demonstrated by leaders of southern states to safeguard the rights of their states while rising above vested interests and petty personal considerations.
He said MPs of states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh come together for raising their issues in Parliament.
"I often used to feel why we do not come together. I used to ask them but they said their party lines are different," said Mann.
Lashing out at the BJP-led Centre, Mann said its leadership indulges in vendetta politics in general and especially in states like Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, where its leadership "miserably failed" to get people's mandate for the formation of its government.
He asked the Centre whether the states where the BJP was not in power were not part of the country.
He said in Delhi, the permission of the Lieutenant Governor is necessary for any work.
Mann said Punjab had demanded extra electricity from the central pool but it was denied, however, it was given to Haryana.
"On the other hand, the PM says 'sabka saath sabka vikas'. Where is our 'saath'? Neither you take our 'saath' nor give the same to us," said Mann.
He recalled that Punjab was asked to pay Rs 7.50 crore by the Centre for sending the military following the terror attack at the Pathankot airbase in 2016.
Mann said he along with the then MP Sadhu Singh asked the defence minister whether the military was provided to Punjab on rent.
Mann said he then had asked, "Don't you consider Punjab as a part of the country."
Thereafter, the sum of Rs 7.50 crore was waived, said Mann.
Targeting the BJP for questioning the intention of the resolution, Mann said the BJP should not question their intention and took a jibe at BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma, saying they get their speech straight from Nagpur, a reference to the headquarter of the RSS.
"I have heard a lot about 'Nagpuri santre' (oranges from Nagpur) but I heard 'Nagpuri bhashan' (address) for the first time. They get their address straight from Nagpur," said Mann while taking a jibe at the BJP.
"You live in Punjab, you eat Punjab's food and drink Punjab's water then you say no, no," he said in an apparent dig at Ashwani Sharma for not supporting the resolution.
Without taking the name of former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Mann said those who used to say that it was different to run a stage or a state are now not visible anywhere.
The resolution was passed by the House in the absence of the two BJP MLAs, who had staged a walkout.
Except the BJP, whose state unit chief Ashwani Sharma said he doubts the intent behind the resolution, members of all political parties supported the move.
The Centre has notified the rules, under which the retirement age has been increased from 58 to 60 years while child care leave has been increased from one year to two years.
Until now, Punjab service rules applied to employees of Chandigarh, which was made a UT and joint capital of Punjab and Haryana more than five decades ago.
Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966.
Congress general secretary and former Haryana minister Randeep Surjewala on Friday dubbed the resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly for transfer of Chandigarh to it as a "mere piece of paper" having no meaning.
"The resolution of the Punjab Legislative Assembly is a piece of paper, which has no meaning," Surjewala said.
Surjewala is the AICC general secretary and also the Congress party's chief spokesperson.
"Bhagwant Mannji is passing resolutions which are not based on any facts and are only aimed at gaining cheap popularity and making news in newspapers," he said.
"Chandigarh is the capital of Haryana and Punjab. No one can snatch the rights of Haryana. That is the truth," he said.
The Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the state, with CM Bhagwant Mann accusing the Centre of trying to upset the balance in the administration of the Union Territory and other common assets.
The resolution was moved by Mann, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently stormed to power in the state.
It was passed by the House in the absence of the two BJP MLAs, who had staged a walkout.
Except the BJP, whose state unit chief Ashwani Sharma said he doubts the intent behind the resolution, members of all political parties supported the move.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday found it "shocking" that some Congress MLAs were absent from the house during the passing of the resolution that sought immediate transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab.
"The absence of Congress MLAs especially, Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring during the voting to pass the resolution about giving Chandigarh to Punjab, is shocking and saddening," the ruling outfit said in a statement.
It said that both Congress leaders are known for their "big words", but "when it actually came to stand by Punjab, its people and their rights, both were absent".
The party criticised the leaders' absence in the house and said this was the time for all for all political parties to come together and defend the right of their state.
"But it seems that Congress and their loquacious leaders can't see beyond their petty politics," the AAP said.
Khaira parried the attack in a tweet and explained his absence.
"I wish to clarify that after participating in the debate today in Vidhan Sabha on the Chandigarh matter I had to be present in PMLA Special Court of Mohali to attend the ED case date," he tweeted.
"I hope AAP while issuing PR (press release) on this should have taken my view point."
Khaira also said the press statement issued by the AAP was factually incorrect as there was no voting on the resolution.
"So where's the question of me and @RajaWarring1 abstaining?" he asked.
The Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the state, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accusing the Centre of trying to upset the balance in the Union Territory administration and other common assets it shares with the state.
The resolution, moved by Mann, was passed by the House in the absence of two BJP legislators, who earlier staged a walkout.
Except the BJP, whose state unit chief Ashwani Sharma said he doubted the intent behind the move, the resolution found support of all other parties.
Besides AAP, Congress, SAD and the sole BSP legislator in the assembly came out in support of the resolution and dubbed the Centre's move, announced earlier, as "dictatorial and autocratic."
The one-day special session had come amid a political row sparked by Union Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement that central service rules will apply to the employees of Chandigarh.
The Centre has notified the rules.