Punjab Is Welcome To Shift Capital From Chandigarh: Hooda

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Joining issues with Punjab on its claim to Chandigarh, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Sunday that the city is "as much a capital of Haryana as it is of Punjab", adding that Haryana had no objection if Punjab wanted to shift its capital out of Chandigarh.Hooda's remarks came as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal sought Chandigarh for Punjab while speaking at the conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi on Sunday.

"Chandigarh is as much the capital of Haryana as it is of Punjab. We have no objection if Punjab shifts its capital elsewhere in its territory outside Chandigarh. But this issue should not be seen in isolation and in disregard of host of other connected issues," Hooda said.

Hooda was reacting to Badal raking up the Chandigarh issue at the conference of Chief Ministers. Hooda wondered if it was an appropriate forum for Badal to raise such issues.

Addressing the conference, Badal said: "Punjab was the only state where the capital was denied to the parent state after reorganization, in spite of the most solemn promises made by the then prime minister and ratified by the parliament in the form of the Rajiv-Longowal Accord."

This led to a reaction from Hooda as Haryana jointly shares Chandigarh as its capital with Punjab since November 1966.

"We have gathered here to discuss a very important issue i.e. the internal security of the nation. But, since the Punjab chief minister has raised such issues, I am constrained to give a reply," Hooda said.

Chandigarh, a centrally administered union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Both states have a 60:40 ratio stake in the city. Though Chandigarh, under law, is supposed to become the capital of Punjab, it has been retained as a union territory by the centre till now.

The secretariats and assemblies of both states and headquarters of most departments are located in Chandigarh itself.