Centre’s Misstep On Chandigarh Risks Rekindling Punjab’s Old Wounds And Political Distrust |
The NDA government at the Centre seems to have bitten off more than it could chew when word spread about its proposal to alter the constitutional status of Chandigarh. Its subsequent clarification—that it has no plans to bring a Bill in the next session of Parliament to place Chandigarh under Article 240—only confirms that the government has recognised the political and emotional fire it had unwittingly lit.
Perhaps, the government was merely testing the waters when the Rajya Sabha bulletin mentioned the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2025, which would have enabled the President to appoint a separate Lieutenant Governor for the Union Territory.
What it clearly did not anticipate was the unprecedented unity with which Punjab erupted in........