Chandigarh, Mar 28 (PTI) Senior Punjab Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa on Monday slammed the Centre for its decisions on the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and service rules of Chandigarh UT employees, saying these are against the country’s federal structure.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday had announced here that the central service rules will apply to the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh and this will benefit them in a “big way”. Earlier, the change in appointment rules for top officers to the BBMB, had raked up a storm with many political parties in Punjab and Haryana criticising the Centre.
Bajwa also urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take an all-party delegation to take up these issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
These decisions taken by the Centre undermine the federal structure of the country, said Bajwa, who represents Qadian in the Punjab assembly, said.
“Multiple decisions taken by the Union government, are against the federal structure of the Indian Constitution and require strong action by the Punjab government to defend the self-respect and interests of the state,” he said in a statement.
Bajwa said the Centre has changed the norms of selecting the full-time chairperson of the BBMB and its members for posts irrigation and power.
The two posts of irrigation and power as per conventional practice were always filled by candidates from Haryana and Punjab, respectively, he said.
“Punjab and Haryana bear the maximum percentage of expenses in the management of the BBMB. In this scenario, the central government by amending the rules is attempting to reduce the representation of the states on the BBMB and harm the interests of Punjab, which is also a part owner of the project,” he said.
Referring to Shah’s announcement at Chandigarh on Sunday on employee service rules, Bajwa said, “The central government announced that the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh would come under the central civil service rules. This is another action which undermines the role of Punjab in Chandigarh.” He said he requests Chief Minister Mann to consult with the Punjab Advocate General and explore all legal remedies available to the state.
“I further request him to take an all-party delegation from Punjab to meet with the prime minister, to make it clear that these decisions are strongly opposed by all parties from Punjab,” Bajwa said.
Furthermore, accepting these actions by the central government would end the claim of Punjab over Chandigarh, claimed the Congress leader.
“I request the chief minister to also stake Punjab’s claim over the city of Chandigarh with the central government at the earliest,” he said.
Bajwa claimed that all these “unilateral decisions” of the Centre could potentially harm the hard-won peace earned by every Punjabi.
“These actions could potentially be explored by outside forces and we must take every step to show the people of Punjab that we are fighting to defend their rights,” he said.
Earlier, the change in appointment rules for top officers to the BBMB had raked up a storm with many political parties in Punjab and Haryana criticising the Centre.
The BBMB, which is a statutory body under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and manages the water resources of Sutlej and Beas, has a whole-time chairman and two members for irrigation and power.
Political leaders have claimed that according to the BBMB Rules, 1974, the member (power) in BBMB was from Punjab and the member (irrigation) was from Haryana but the requirement has been removed in the amended rules. PTI SUN VSD ANB ANB
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Source: The Print
