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HARISH MANAV/Thenewsdose

Chandigarh: In a move with far-reaching political and administrative consequences for Punjab’s long-standing claim over Chandigarh, the Union Government has listed The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2025 for introduction in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. The Bill proposes to appoint a Lieutenant Governor to administer Chandigarh, bringing the Union Territory under Article 240 of the Constitution, similar to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Puducherry.

Reacting sharply, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday lashed out at the Centre, calling it “another draconian move” designed to “snatch Chandigarh from Punjab”. He said the state government “will not allow any conspiracy” by the BJP-led NDA government to weaken Punjab’s historical, legal and emotional claim over its capital.

Bill Alters Governance Structure of Chandigarh

According to the Bill listed in the Rajya Sabha Bulletin, Chandigarh—currently administered by the Punjab Governor—would, after the amendment, come under an independent administrator/Lieutenant Governor, realigning its governance structure with other Union Territories without legislatures.

With this change, Chandigarh would follow administrative rules similar to Lakshadweep and other UTs, reducing the role of Punjab in its governance framework.

The move comes barely days after the Centre withdrew a contentious notification seeking changes to the governance structure of Panjab University, another sensitive inter-state institution. It also follows the recent meeting of the Northern Zonal Council, where CM Mann had strongly reiterated Punjab’s demand for the transfer of Chandigarh to the state.

Mann: ‘Chandigarh Was, Is and Will Remain Part of Punjab’

Terming the proposed amendment “an injustice”, Mann said Chandigarh has always been Punjab’s capital — first after Partition when Lahore went to Pakistan and again after the 1966 Punjab Reorganisation, when the city was designated capital for both Punjab and Haryana.

“It is a naked truth that the BJP-led Union government is doing grave injustice to the state by conspiring to snatch our capital from us,” Mann said. “Though every parent state has sole right over its capital, Punjab has been repeatedly denied this right.”

The Chief Minister argued that no other linguistic reorganisation in India has left a parent state without a capital, calling Punjab’s case “unprecedented and discriminatory”. He added that the Centre’s latest move “further rubs salt into the wounds” of Punjab, which has “long suffered injustices from successive Union governments”.

‘Punjab Has Sole Right Over Chandigarh’

Mann said that it is universally accepted that Chandigarh, conceived and developed as a capital for post-Partition Punjab, remains an integral part of the state. “Chandigarh was, is and will remain an inseparable part of Punjab,” he said, urging the Union Government to respect historical facts and constitutional principles rather than “unilaterally altering the city’s status”.

As political tensions escalate, the introduction of the Bill is expected to trigger a fresh round of debate over Punjab’s decades-old claim on Chandigarh and the future of the city’s administrative structure.