The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on Thursday passed a resolution, asking for continued status as a Union Territory for the city and sought a Vidhan Sabha (assembly) for it amid a walkout by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party members.
The decision was cleared with only Bharatiya Janata Party councillors remaining present.
The House also passed a resolution that the Centre ask Punjab and Haryana to have their own capital cities. At present, Chandigarh fills in the role for both the states.
The issue cropped up after Punjab and Haryana called special assembly sessions on their respective claims to Chandigarh.
Following this, the city municipal agency held a special House meeting on Thursday.
“All the councillors in the civic body had sought opinion from their respective wards and, today at the special house meeting we have passed a resolution to express sentiments that Chandigarh should remain a UT with a Vidhan Sabha. During the meeting, the House also thanked union home minister Amit Shah for allotting projects worth around Rs 600 crore to the UT and for bringing central service rules for the UT employees. It benefited over 1 lakh UT employees in the city,” said BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu.
AAP-ruled Punjab had on April 1 called a one-day special session of the state assembly where a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the state was adopted.
Four days later, the assembly of Haryana, where the BJP is in power, passed a resolution urging the Centre not to take any steps that would disturb the existing balance and maintain harmony till all the issues emanating from the reorganisation of Punjab are settled.
Chandigarh BJP president Arun Sood said, “We support the special House meeting that passed a resolution. We also want to thank home minister Amit Shah for including Chandigarh employees under central service rules, and also for the projects worth Rs 600 crore inaugurated in the city.”
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