Charging successive Congress-led governments at the Centre for depriving Punjab of its capital, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday said time has come for Narendra Modi-led government to make Chandigarh the capital of the state.
Chandigarh was made the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, following the carving of Haryana as a separate state in 1966.
“Since long Punjab has been the victim of the injustice of Union government but now the time has come when Modi government must give justice to the state by handing over Chandigarh to it (Punjab),” Badal said in Chandigarh on Sunday.
Mr. Badal said as per universally accepted law, Chandigarh was part and parcel of Punjab and added, “Chandigarh was and would remain an integral part of Punjab.”
“The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has always struggled for safeguarding the interests of the state and we will continue our endeavour to get back Chandigarh,” he added.
The Chief Minister said time and again the Congress-led governments at the Centre had done a grave injustice to the state by denying its capital, legitimate share in river waters and even the Punjabi speaking areas.
He said there is barely an example in the country other than Punjab, where the parent state has been deprived of its capital, after the formation of linguistic states.
Replying to a query, the Chief Minister said the everlasting alliance between SAD and BJP was in the interest of the state and the country.
He said the alliance was necessary for the sake of ensuring progress, peace and communal harmony in the state.
Earlier, Mr. Badal had underscored the need for imparting ’purposeful education’ to youth so as to enable them to earn their livelihood with self esteem and pride.
He said thrust must be laid on imparting skill training to youth so to make them self reliant.
Mr. Badal said the state government has laid special emphasis on opening a network of skill training institutes in the state so as to open new vistas of employment through education for the youth.
