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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: 5 BJP faces among six new members in advisory council
Nearly six months after UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria reconstituted the administrator's advisory council (AAC), leaving out several key figures of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the UT administration on Wednesday inducted six new members – five of whom are senior BJP leaders. The move is being seen as a bid to placate the local BJP unit, who had cried foul after the council's reconstitution in December, stating that only those having connections with the new local leadership had been considered while those who had been working for the city and party for years, had been left out. Among those who have now been included in the 54-member council are former MP and additional solicitor general of India Satya Pal Jain, senior BJP leaders Sanjay Tandon and Davesh Moudgil – all of whom are making a comeback. Apart from that former Chandigarh mayors Anup Gupta and Gian Chand Gupta have also been given a berth. Senior leaders Arun Sood and Vineet Joshi, however, have been left out again. Ex-Cong MP Bansal dropped The sixth new member is Dr Ravinder Nath, a resident of Dadumajra Colony. Surprisingly, senior Congress leader and former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, who had been part of the council for several years, has been dropped this time. The council, which advises the administration on development issues and policy matters, includes personalities from various professional fields. It serves for a period of two years. During the December 2024 reconstitution, its strength was brought down to 54, from 60 earlier. The present council's term started on January 1, 2025, and will end on December 31, 2026. So far, the council has met only once – on February 4 this year, when the city's traffic woes, encroachment issues, health infrastructure, and need-based changes in Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) houses, were discussed. AAP alleges political favouritism Meanwhile, AAP's Chandigarh unit president Vijaypal Singh questioned the induction of saffron party leaders, asking whether the city's administration was being run from the official Secretariat or Kamalam, the BJP's party office in Sector 33, Chandigarh. 'It seems the administration is no longer functioning independently. The inclusion of select BJP leaders in the supplementary list of the advisory committee reflects blatant political favouritism. It raises doubts about the autonomy of the bureaucracy and suggests that administrative decisions are being heavily influenced, if not dictated, by the BJP's political agenda,' he said. Saffron party leaders seeks greater representation to Punjab Punjab BJP leader and ex-bureaucrat Jagmohan Singh Raju wrote to UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, urging for greater representation to Punjab. 'Chandigarh being the capital of the state Punjab, has a major stake in the development and policy matters of the city. Sadly, in the advisory council, there is no representation from Punjab. I would therefore respectfully urge you to kindly consider the inclusion of a higher number of representatives from Punjab in the council,' he wrote.
India Gazette
08-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"If he is doing politics on this, then it is unfortunate,"Haryana CM slams Bhagwant Mann for water dispute
Panchkula (Haryana) [India], May 8 (ANI): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini criticised Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for politicising the Punjab-Haryana water dispute, emphasising that the issue pertains to drinking water and should not be used for political gains. 'There are many other topics related to politics. If Bhagwant Mann wants to do politics, then he should do so on those other topics. This is a question of drinking water... If he is doing politics on this, then it is unfortunate ...,' he said. Saini further urged Mann to respect the High Court's decision, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of disregarding constitutional institutions by sidelining the court's ruling. 'The decision of HC will be accepted and respected, but this decision, reflect that AAP does not believe and neither respect the constitution, does not believe in constitutional institutions, they have side cornered the decision of HC, I want to request Bhagwant Mann to respect the decision of HC,' he said. On Tuesday, following the Punjab and Haryana High Court's hearing over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal dispute, Additional Solicitor General of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Satya Pal Jain, said that Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) decision should be implemented. 'BBMB is an institution that controls the flow of water. It decides the share of the believe that BBMB's decision should be implemented. There is no point in deploying police there. The Punjab government should remove the deployment of police and let the BBMB do its work,' Satya Pal Jain told ANI. Earlier today, Punjab CM held press conference in which he said that, 'Today, the BBMB chairman, adopting an irresponsible attitude, bypassed Punjab and reached Nangal Dam to give water to Haryana. But due to the protest by the revolutionary people of Punjab, he had to return. We will protect every drop of Punjab's water.' Punjab CM announced that Punjab is providing 4,000 cusecs of water to Haryana on humanitarian grounds. He criticized the BJP for holding 'unconstitutional' BBMB meetings and accused them of making anti-Punjab decisions to 'rob' Punjab's water. 'We are giving 4000 cusecs of water to Haryana on a humanitarian basis. But instead of giving thanks, decisions are being taken by unconstitutionally holding BBMB meetings. We will not tolerate coercion of any kind. On one side, there is an atmosphere of war in the country, on the other side BJP is trying to rob the waters of Punjab by taking anti-Punjab decisions. We also know how to protect borders and also know how to protect our water,' he said. (ANI)
