Chidu, Badal spar over control of Chandigarh

P Chidambaram and Parkash Singh Badal have locked horns over who should govern Chandigarh. While the home minister favours a chief commissioner as the union territory’s (UT’s) administrative head, the Punjab chief minister wants the governor to have the final word, since “Chandigarh, for all practical purposes, belongs to Punjab”.

Demanding the return of Chandigarh to Punjab, Badal, in a letter to Chidambaram last week, warned of serious consequences as “people of Punjab would not permit a change in the administrative structure of Chandigarh to the detriment of interests and claims of Punjab and Punjabis”.

Chandigarh was declared a UT in 1966 and had a Centre-appointed chief commissioner as its head, till the practice of the Punjab governor administrating it began at the peak of militancy in mid-80s.

In October last year, Chidambaram hinted at reverting to the old practice and handing over the administrative control of Chandigarh to a chief commissioner after Punjab
governor SF Rodrigues found himself embroiled in a land controversy.

The home minister said the appointment of the Punjab governor as the administrator of the UT was a temporary arrangement for two months in view of the fact that “the prevalent law and order situation in Punjab would spill over to the UT”.

Questioning the propriety of the practice in the present context, he said, “If the governor is also an administrator, it raises the issue of his accountability.” The minister saw dichotomy in the two roles of the governor and suggested that the practice of appointing a chief commissioner be restored.

Badal, however, termed the “move an attempt to deprive Punjab of its control of Chandigarh”. He recalled that under the Rajiv-Longowal accord in 1986, Chandigarh was handed over to Punjab.

“It is amazing and shocking to learn that efforts are afoot to turn Chandigarh into a perpetual UT. “Chandigarh has to be finally handed over to Punjab, so there is no rationale in changing the present system of the governor being its administrator,” Badal said and warned against “tinkering with the present system as it would create a justifiable feeling of resentment among the people of Punjab”. He demanded continuation of the present system till Chandigarh was “formally transferred to Punjab”.

Joining the issue, chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Haryana governor should also be appointed administrator of the city in turns. “It should not be the exclusive prerogative of Punjab since Chandigarh was a joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.”

As the tug of war between Chidambaram and Badal continues, the appointment of the new governor has been delayed, after the term of the incumbent ended on Nov 16.