New Delhi: Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday demanded resumption of trade with Pakistan along the International Border and handing over Chandigarh Union Territory to Punjab in the Parliament. Speaking during the debate over the interim budget, Harsimrat Badal demanded resumption of cross-border farming by the farmers of Punjab, implementation of Punjabi in Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab, resumption of trade ties with Pakistan besides other issues.
Harsimrat Badal said that Chandigarh was an “inalienable” part of Punjab while demanding that the UT be handed over to the state in earnest. “Under the Punjab Reorganization Act in 1966, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had promised that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab, but he failed to do so,"the Shiromani Akali Dal leader said.
"Chandigarh should be made the capital of our Punjab. Chandigarh is the temporary capital of Punjab and Haryana, so the cadre officers here should be taken from Punjab and Chandigarh in the ratio of 60:40. By changing the ratio, the number of other officers is increasing and the number of Punjab officers is decreasing due to which Punjab's right over Chandigarh is decreasing," she added.
Harsimrat Badal also dwelt on the issue of water and said that, "Punjab is the only state in India which does not have its own capital and our water is also not our own”. “By pushing Punjab, the central governments took away the water of Punjab and our capital Chandigarh from us and now our right to Chandigarh is being weakened by reducing the proportion of jobs of Punjabis in Chandigarh. In order to put Punjab back on the path of prosperity, it is very important to make the state prosperous by starting trade with Pakistan through the national borders,” she added.
Badal said that Punjab used to have a member in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB”, but changes were made in the BBMP meant that today there is no member from Punjab in BBMB, while members from other states are included. Badal also raised a demand in the Parliament regarding trade between Punjab and Pakistan.
She said that the Attari-Wagah and Ferozepur border of Punjab should be opened for trade, on the lines of Mumbai-Karachi route. “I hope that the central government will think about this, so that business in Punjab gets a big boost and employment avenues are created for the youth and Punjab becomes prosperous,” she added.
