The long pending issue of transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab, besides others, on Thursday once again echoed against Punjab Vidhan Sabha walls, even as the Congress legislators “boycotted” the proceedings.
Punjab Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, addressing the House on the first day of the Budget Session, expressed hope of early resolution of long pending territorial issues facing the State including Chandigarh’s transfer and sharing of river water on riparian principle — issues which find mention almost every year in the Governor’s Address.
Soon as the clock struck 2 pm and before Solanki could start his address, the leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar announced that the party would boycott Governor’s address because of Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia’s alleged involvement in multi-crore drug racket and “his continuation as Minister”.
It is for the first time in the recallable history that the leader of Opposition started speaking before the Governor could start his address on the first day of the budget session. Jakhar, after welcoming the Governor, said that the party had brought no-confidence motion on this issue during previous session which could not get through, and Majithia, despite facing serious charges, is still occupying the Minister’s position.
“We know that the Government has become so thick-skinned that it will not remove Majithia so we are boycotting this address,” he said, following which the Congress MlAs staged a walkout shouting slogans. As the opposition benches remained empty, the Governor addressed the House for about 50 minutes skipping a number of paragraphs out of a total of 247 paragraphs in his 55-page speech.
Speaking on the river waters’ issue, Solanki, who is also the Governor of Haryana, said: “Punjab has been denied its right through a continued refusal to apply the nationally and internationally accepted Riparian principle.” “We are not against the interests of any of our neighbouring States and are always willing to help with good neighbourly gestures. But Punjab’s inalienable right over river waters under the Riparian principle must be recognised and protected,” he said.
Interestingly, in his address to the Haryana Assembly on Monday, Solanki had maintained that the BJP Government “is committed to ensure that Haryana gets its due share of water from all inter-State river agreements”. Solanki, as Haryana Governor, had also said: “My government is actively taking all steps for expeditious completion of Satluj Yamuna link Canal and linking of BMl-Hansi Branch-Butana Branch Multipurpose link channel.”
Being the articulation of policy and concerns of the Government, the Governor’s address also raised the issue of “continued denial of the State’s capital city, Chandigarh, and other Punjabi speaking areas to the State”. Solanki said that the Government is hopeful that “these issues will be addressed in right earnest and the longstanding injustice and discriminations against the State would end in the near future”.
Solanki, addressing Punjab Assembly in Hindi — for the first time in the recallable past, also talked of liberal tax concessions for Punjab on the pattern of neighbouring States. These concessions to the neighbouring states, awarded by the BJP-led NDA Government under AB Vajpayee, were described as discrimination to the State.
Welcoming the setting up of SIT to investigate 1984 anti-Sikh carnage, he expressed concern that the guilty were still to be punished. He called for liberal financial concession for rehabilitation package for the thousands of victims. Showering heaps of praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA Government at the Centre, he praised its move to abolish the Planning Commission and replacing it with Niti Ayog in a “first signal that country was about to get rid of excessive unitarism” and bringing in federalism.