AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh’s observation that the Central government will handle the law and order in Hyderabad will be possible only when it is either made into a State like New Delhi or a Union Territory like Chandigarh which is a common capital for Punjab and Haryana, some officials here have claimed.
As the debate is on how Hyderabad would function as the joint capital for 10 years once the State is divided continues, bureaucrats are wondering if Mr. Singh hinted that the Centre was looking at provisions like in New Delhi where law and order is handled by the Union Home Ministry and the Police Commissioner is directly responsible to the Lieutenant Governor.
“If Mr. Singh has the Delhi model in mind, then the constitution has to be amended to make Hyderabad UT,” an official pointed out. Official sources also pointed out to a contradiction in Mr. Singh’s statement when he said that Hyderabad would be part of T State after 10 years and that a new capital would be developed for Seemandhra. “It looks like an irrational proposal because it means for 10 years Hyderabad’s law and order would be handled by a Lieutenant General and later, the twin cities security issue would return to the Telangana State,” they observed. There are three types of UTs in the country. In the first type, there is a State Assembly headed by a CM as in New Delhi and Puducherry, but instead of a Governor, it has Lieutenant Governor. Some of the law and order issues are handled by the Chief Minister as well as the Lieutenant Governor. Both Delhi and Puducherry were later upgraded as full-fledged States.
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Second category is Chandigarh, which is entirely governed by the Lieutenant Governor despite, the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana ruling the respective states. Except for administering the two States, the Chief Ministers have no say whatsoever in the day-to-day functioning of Chandigarh. The last type of UTs like the Dadra Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep have separate Lieutenant Governors.