Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday demanded a special status for Punjab while calling upon Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to convene an all-party meeting on the issue to take the case with the Centre collectively.
Besides the special status, AAP has also demanded inclusion of Punjab in the list of special category states, besides a revision in the “terms of reference of the Fifteenth Finance Commission”.
AAP MlA from Kharar Kanwar Sandhu has written two separate letters recently to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in this connection, besides writing another letter to Punjab Chief Minister urging him to convene an all-party meeting on these issues “so as to present a strong and collective case on behalf of the people of Punjab to the Centre”.
“Punjab has a much stronger case than even states like Andhra Pradesh, which are seeking special status and inclusion in the list of SCS. While special status will help meet the political aspirations of its people through legitimate legislative means, its inclusion in SCS will help it come out of the economic and financial mess,” said Sandhu.