Days after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution seeking Chandigarh as part of the state, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday, 3 April, said that the contended city will remains Haryana's capital.
"We will not let Chandigarh go anywhere... Chandigarh was, is, and will remain Haryana's capital... As long as people of Haryana are with us, nothing can happen," Khattar stated.
"AAP has double standards. Despite being in rule for a few days (in Punjab), they have raised the controversial issue of Chandigarh. I feel they are doing so on someone else's commands... They can't dare to even look at Haryana," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
CM Khattar's statements come after the Punjab Legislative Assembly, led by Aam Aadmi Party leader and CM Bhagwant Mann, on Friday passed a resolution to transfer the Union territory to the state of Punjab.
The resolution was against the Centre's decision to extend central service rules to Chandigarh.
The resolution had asked the Centre to uphold the principles of federalism enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and to not take decisions that might upset the balance in the administrative matters of Chandigarh.
This comes after Home Minister Amit Shah announced on 27 March that government employees in Chandigarh will get the same benefits as those of the central civil services, drawing condemnation from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)