Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday said that Punjab was the only state in the country that had been denied its state capital following the reorganisation of the state in 1966.
Speaking in Parliament, the Bathinda MP questioned why Punjab was being discriminated against and said the state had not been granted Chandigarh as its capital despite several announcements and assurances.
“Punjab was first promised Chandigarh as its capital when Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were carved out of it in 1966, with the Union Territory status being a temporary arrangement. Later, in 1970, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab. In 1985, the Rajiv-Longowal Accord also ratified the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and even stipulated a date for the same,” she said.
Stating that the issue was still languishing after sixty years, Mrs Badal said Punjab should also be granted its own capital, just like other states, including Andhra Pradesh, which was recognised as the sole and permanent capital of the state in Parliament today.