New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann moved a resolution Friday seeking the transfer of capital Chandigarh to the state.
The independent Union Territory is the capital city of both Punjab and Haryana, and has been courted by both states ever since the previous capital Lahore went to Pakistan.
However, it is in the middle of a political tug-of-war after the Centre announced it would apply central norms to Chandigarh’s bureaucrats.
At the moment, administrative officers come under the Punjab service rules.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on 27 March that government employees in Chandigarh would get the same benefits as those of the central civil services.
AAP and the Shiromani Akali Dal decried this move as an attempt to create disharmony in the state.
Bureaucrats, however, may have liked the Centre’s decision as the retirement age now goes up by two years, from 58 to 60.
Punjab politicians have opposed this move further, because they believe their right over the UT has been challenged.
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