Indian Union Home
Minister Amit Shah said Sunday that employees of the Chandigarh Union Territory
will be considered employees of the Union government from the new financial
year (April 1) and will be eligible for certain benefits only available to
Union employees. The move, which solves a long-pending demand of government
staffers, has triggered reactions in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh,
three states which stake claim to the city.

While Punjab Chief
Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann has said the state will
fight for its claim over Chandigarh, Congress’ Sukhpal Singh Khaira described
the Centre’s “unilateral” move as an attack on federalism while Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the Centre’s move was in violation of
the Punjab Reorganisation Act.

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The Punjab Reorganisation
Act of 1966 is at the heart of the Chandigarh dispute. The Act reorganised the
existing state of Punjab and carved out the state of Haryana. Hilly regions of erstwhile
Punjab went to Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh became a Union Territory to capital
the states of both Punjab and Haryana.

While the political
leadership of Punjab has consistently claimed Chandigarh as part of the state,
Haryana says Chandigarh is its part citing the same Punjab Reorganisation Act. “Chandigarh
belonged to Haryana and will always be part of Haryana,” the state’s chief minister
Bhupinder Singh Hooda said. This, according to Haryana’s political powers, is
because Chandigarh was once part of Ambala district.

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Meanwhile,
Himachal Pradesh too claims Chandigarh. For this, the hill state cites a
Supreme Court judgment issued on September 27, 2011 which states that 7.19% of
Chandigarh belongs to Haryana as part of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. Haryana
Chief Minister Jay Ram Thakur has previous claimed that Himachal should also
get 7.19% of the power generated from the Bhakra Nangal power project. “The
state should get its legitimate share in Chandigarh,” Thakur had said.