A day after the Centre appointed Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore as Chandigarh Administrator bowing to “political pressure”, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Friday endorsed the idea that the office of the UT Administrator should be held in rotation by the respective Governors of Punjab and Haryana.
The Chief Minister was talking to the mediapersons after attending an event here. On a question whether the post of Chandigarh Administrator should be rotated or given on seniority basis between Haryana and Punjab Governors, the Chief Minister said that this issue has been discussed with the Centre.
Amid the controversy over the post, the Chief Minister refrained from commenting further and said that the issue is not very serious. Notably, the BJP-led Centre had earlier decided to appoint Kerala BJP leader KJ Alphons as the new Administrator of the union territory but withdrew the decision following protest by Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
If Alphons had been appointed Administrator, it would have ended a 32-year-old system of the Punjab Governor also controlling the union territory of Chandigarh as Administrator. On Wednesday, news of Alphons’ impending appointment had kicked off a political controversy in poll-bound Punjab.
Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal had sought an immediate review of the decision while State Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh had also rejected the appointment, terming it a blatantly unjust move aimed at snatching away Chandigarh from Punjab and an attempt to deliberately weaken Punjab’s claim over Chandigarh.
Chandigarh, a union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana since November 1, 1966. Both the states have been staking claim to the city as their capital.
A day before, President Pranab Mukherjee had issued orders that the Punjab Governor would be the Administrator of Chandigarh.
“President Pranab Mukherjee has been pleased to appoint VP Singh Badnore to be the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, in addition to his duties as Governor of Punjab,” said the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique.