PNS/
 
Senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday wrote to the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann seeking a unanimous resolution in the ongoing session of the Vidhan Sabha to stall any attempt of the Centre to weaken Punjab’s claim over Chandigarh as its capital.
 
Bajwa, referring to a news report regarding direct hiring by the Chandigarh Administration, said that the status of the Union Territory of Chandigarh was still disputed and it continued to be governed under the provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, according to which all the posts are required to be filled up in the ratio of 60:40 on a transfer basis from Punjab and Haryana.
 
He said that the shortfall in filling up vacancies of the fixed quota of Punjab and Haryana had already been met through direct recruitment of UT cadre employees. “In case of teachers, 80 percent of posts have already been filled by the UT cadre teachers, primarily due to non-sparing the teachers for deputation by way of transfer by the respective governments in the past. Only 20 per cent of posts of teachers are being filled up in the ratio of 60:40,” he said.
 
Bajwa said that the move was fraught with the danger of the Punjab Government losing its claim over Union Territory unless it was resisted strongly. “Chandigarh is the joint capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Therefore, provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, must over-rule any provision governing normal Union Territories under the direct control of the ministry of home affairs,” he said, pointing out that any decision running contrary to the interests of Punjab and Haryana must not be taken without consulting them.