CHANDIGARH, June 10: Taking serious note of the statement of Home MinisterL k Advani that Chandigarh would continue to remain a Union Territory, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal reacted today by staking Punjab's claim on Chandigarh and pressing for its immediate transfer and that of other Punjabi-speaking areas to the state.Badal asserted that it was high time that Punjab, as a matter of right, was restored independent charge of its capital so as to undo the injustice done to it by successive governments and to see that the border state was able to keep pace with the rest of the country in matter of development.
Badal pointed out that Chandigarh was primarily planned as a capital of Punjab and it had been a practice that during reorganisation of different states in the country at different times, the parent state had the right of retaining the original capital and the new state built its new capital.
In this context, he quoted instances of carving out of Bihar and Assam from West Bengal atdifferent times, creation of Orissa out of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh out of Madras state and reorganisation of Gujarat.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.