Haryana Assembly speaker Gyan Chand Gupta on Thursday stated that the state of Punjab has denied Haryana’s interests and rights for decades. This statement comes as Haryana is demanding affiliation for its colleges under Panjab University, Chandigarh (PU). This, the government claims is being done so that students from Haryana can receive quality education. However, neighbouring Punjab has strongly opposed this move, stating that this would not result in the betterment of the University or its students. Political observers are of the view that Punjab is leaving “no stone unturned” to suppress Haryana’s interests due to “vested political gain.”
Haryana came into existence in 1966, following the reorganisation of the state of Punjab and was allowed at least 40 per cent share of resources. Punjab, experts in Haryana feel, has continually denied Haryana’s promised share since the separation.
For example, Haryana has not received its share in the Assembly building even after several decades. Haryana Speaker Gupta stated that Punjab still occupies 20 rooms that belong to Haryana in the Vidhan Sabha building which should have been handed over to Haryana under a 60:40 division of assets. “The situation is so dire in terms of shortage of space that we can not accommodate even 90 legislators.” Besides, the present building does not have space for its ministers along with Vidhan Sabha committees and it can not be expanded due to its heritage status. “In the wake of this, the state government had sought a ten-acre plot in Chandigarh to construct another Assembly building of its own but Punjab’s AAP-led government and other political parties have proposed the proposal saying Chandigarh belongs to Haryana. Further, Gupta blamed political outfits in Punjab for “politicising” issues such as the PU affiliation or the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL). The SYL has also been a point of contention between Haryana and Punjab for several decades. Chief Ministers of both the states have also met several times regarding the matter but Haryana has returned from these meetings empty-handed every time. Apart from this, 400 Hindi-speaking villages were also to be given to Haryana by Punjab and till today these villages are still part of Punjab.