Chandigarh: Amid a political furore in Punjab over the Centre’s proposal to bring Chandigarh under the ambit of Article 240 of the Constitution—which empowers the President to make regulations for union territories and to legislate directly—the home ministry has issued a clarification, saying there is “no intention of introducing any Bill to this effect” in the Winter Session of Parliament.
The MHA update came Sunday afternoon, a day after a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha bulletin said the government would introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 in the Winter Session, which begins on December 1, to effect the changes.
The bulletin stated the Bill sought to include the Union territory of Chandigarh in Article 240, in line with other UTs without legislatures, such as the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Puducherry (when its Legislative Assembly is dissolved or suspended).
The bulletin triggered a political backlash in Punjab, leading to state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar issuing a statement that the “confusion” will be “resolved” in discussions with the government.
“Chandigarh is an integral part of Punjab, and the Punjab BJP stands firmly with the interests of the state, whether it is the issue of Chandigarh or the waters of Punjab. Whatever confusion has arisen regarding Chandigarh, will be resolved by discussing it with the government. As a Punjabi myself, I assure you that for us, Punjab always comes first,” Jakhar posted on X.
Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, and both states claim exclusive ownership over the city. The Centre’s move was seen as an attempt to weaken Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh and it was vociferously opposed by political parties in the state, barring the BJP, who warned of “unprecedented protests”.
As the row threatened to snowball into a major controversy, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement, saying the proposal was “only to simplify the Central Government’s law-making process for the Union Territory of Chandigarh” and “is still under consideration with the Central Government”.
The statement added that the proposal in “no way seeks to alter Chandigarh’s governance or administrative structure”, nor does it aim to change the traditional arrangements between Chandigarh and Punjab or Haryana
“A suitable decision will be taken only after adequate consultations with all stakeholders, keeping in mind the interests of Chandigarh. There is no need for any concern on this matter. The Central Government has no intention of introducing any Bill to this effect in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament,” it posted on X.
Before that, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann vowed the Punjab government would not allow any “conspiracy” of the BJP-led NDA government to “snatch” Chandigarh from the state. In a statement issued Saturday, the AAP leader said that Chandigarh was, is, and will always remain an integral part of the state, adding that the amendment proposed by the Union government would not be allowed.
He said that though every parent state has the sole right over its capital, grave injustice had been meted out to Punjab by denying the capital city exclusively to the state. He said there is hardly any parallel to this. Mann said it is a naked truth that the BJP-led Union government was doing grave injustice to the state by “conspiring to snatch our capital from us”.
He said nobody can deny that, being the parent state, Punjab has the sole right to its capital city of Chandigarh. He claimed that successive governments at the Centre have done a grave injustice to the state by denying its capital.
The proposal only to simplify the Central Government’s law-making process for the Union Territory of Chandigarh is still under consideration with the Central Government. No final decision has been taken on this proposal. The proposal in no way seeks to alter Chandigarh’s…
— PIB – Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) November 23, 2025
Senior Congressman and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa had said the move was a “deliberate assault” on Punjab.
“Chandigarh was created in 1966 as Punjab’s capital, with the Punjab Governor serving as its Administrator for decades. Now the Centre’s 131st Amendment move to pull Chandigarh under Article 240 is nothing short of snatching the city away from Punjab — an open attack on history, federalism, and Punjab’s rights,” he said in a post on X.
He claimed the BJP government was pushing a “politically loaded” bill to recast Chandigarh like any other UT. “This is yet another deliberate assault on Punjab. From Chandigarh, to river waters to Panjab University, the Centre is continuously chipping away at Punjab’s legitimate rights. All political parties in Punjab must unite and build a strategy to stop this unprecedented overreach,” he wrote on X.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal had also appealed to the Union government not to introduce the Bill, saying doing so would amount to betraying and discriminating against brave Punjabis who had sacrificed the most for the country. He said it would be like going back on all commitments made to Punjab to hand over Chandigarh to it.
In a statement issued Saturday, the SAD president said, “(The bill) seeks to end Punjab’s claim to Chandigarh as its capital city”.
Describing the proposed legislation as an assault on the rights of Punjab, Badal had said it was “also against federalism and amounts to discriminating against Punjabis who have been in the vanguard of the freedom struggle as well as protection of the borders of the country, besides ushering in the green revolution which ensured food security to the nation”.
Asserting that the proposed Bill would also go against the solemn commitments given by the Centre to restore Chandigarh to Punjab, Badal said the Union government accepted in principle to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab in 1970.
He said that subsequently, the Rajiv-Longowal accord fixed a deadline of January 1986 for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab. “The accord was also ratified by parliament but did not see the light of day”.
Badal claimed that over the last few decades, the Centre had steadily diluted Punjab’s claim over Chandigarh by not adhering to the 60:40 ratio in posting employees from Punjab and Haryana, respectively, in the union territory, posting officers from the UT (AGMUT) cadre in Chandigarh, and other measures, including “diluting” Punjab’s control over the Panjab University.
In a post on Sunday, he said the SAD has called an emergency meeting of the party’s core committee “to plan and formulate a strong and decisive response against the anti-Punjab Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill”.
Chandigarh was created in 1966 as Punjab’s capital, with the Punjab Governor serving as its Administrator for decades. Now the Centre’s 131st Amendment move to pull Chandigarh under Article 240 is nothing short of snatching the city away from Punjab — an open attack on history,…
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) November 22, 2025
Congress state chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said any move to change the status of Chandigarh would be met with “unprecedented” resistance.
AAP MP Malvinder Kang said all parliamentarians from Punjab needed to take this up unitedly.
“This moment demands unity. Every MP from Punjab, across political lines, must stand together, forge a common front, and defeat this amendment in the Winter Session. History will not forgive those who choose silence,” he wrote on X.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)