No takers for Capt Chandigarh pitch

If Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tried to boost his image as champion of the state’s interests by laying claim to Chandigarh, h...

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If Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tried to boost his image as champion of the state’s interests by laying claim to Chandigarh, he must have been disappointed. His remarks passed off as a non-event.

Unlike the SYL Canal issue, there was no chest-thumping by anyone in Haryana — only a token rejection of his claim by CM Om Prakash Chautala. The Congress high command too has ignored the remarks made by Singh at a function at Guru Gobind Singh College for Girls at Chandigarh on August 9. The CM had said: ‘‘We have right over Chandigarh and it should be given to Punjab.’’ He said the city will go to Punjab as its transfer was part of the Rajiv Gandhi-Harchand Singh Longowal accord.

However, Congress sources said the move may backfire as many issues, including that of river water-sharing, fall within the purview of the accord.

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Sources also said not every issue could be trumped up to mobilise support. While irrigation is a sensitive issue with farmers and can be used, in case of Chandigarh, ‘‘one has to contend with the wishes of people of the city, who have repeatedly expressed their desire to stay as a Union Territory in many ways’’.

Chandigarh serves as the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana which share a high court and the Secretariat building. The top bureaucracy for managing the city is drawn from both states with posts earmarked for their cadres.

The Congress is preparing for the Haryana Assembly polls, due next year. The going would have been easy, given the Congress tally of nine of 10 LS seats during the recent polls but Singh created problems for the party with the legislation terminating water-sharing agreements. The party, then, is apparently happy the Chandigarh issue has not kicked up a ruckus like SYL.