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Sharp reaction over `capital' remarks

"Made with an eye on Assembly elections"

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday asked Haryana to leave its claim on Chandigarh and set up its capital in Panchkula or Rohtak, sparking an immediate reaction from the neighbouring State, which said such statements were being made keeping an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections.

"They should look to set up their own capital in Rohtak or Panchkula or anywhere else in the State," Amarinder Singh told reporters here when asked about the assertions by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda recently at various public platforms claiming they had a stake on Chandigarh.

Stating that Lahore was the joint capital of Punjab before Independence, he said, "Does it mean we can claim our stake over Lahore? Chandigarh was developed by former Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon in 1950s. Later, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana were carved out of Punjab and while Himachal created its own capital Shimla, we fail to understand what is stopping Haryana from having its own capital," he said.

Haryana Irrigation Minister Ajay Yadav reacted to the Chief Minister's statement saying it was made with an eye on the Punjab Assembly elections early next year.

"Amarinder Singh is not making practical statements. In fact, Chandigarh is just an extension of Kalka, which falls in Haryana. Making such statements can be his (political) compulsion, but our advice is that he is a responsible person, he should not do so," Yadav said.

He even suggested that Punjab should look to set up its own capital at Patiala or somewhere else. "If he keeps raking up the capital or water issues, we will take up the matter with Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi and urge him to ask Amarinder to refrain from such statements in future," he said.

`No anti-incumbency '

Meanwhile, Dismissing an anti-incumbency factor in Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has said that people will vote in favour of development in the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled early next year.

"People will vote for development. You should see the response of masses to our Vikas Yatras and the way they swarm us everywhere, so to say there would be anti-incumbency factor this time would be incorrect," Singh, who was here to attend the oath taking ceremony of the new Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, at Haryana Raj Bhawan, told reporters. The Chief Minister said that ruling Congress was all set to hold a rally on December 8 at Lambi, the stronghold of Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal. The SAD-BJP will also hold a rally at Moga on the same day.

PTI

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