Pargat Singh Slams Five Anti-Punjab Bills in Parliament; AAP-BJP Deceiving Public on Chandigarh

Jalandhar (The Uttam Hindu): Pargat Singh described the five bills the Central Government plans to introduce in the upcoming winter session of Parliament — the Education Commission Bill, Atomic Energy Bill, Electricity Bill, National Highway Authority Bill, and Chandigarh Bill — as being against the interests of Punjab. 

He alleged that both the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are misleading the people of Punjab, especially regarding the Chandigarh Bill. Singh said that while Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann may claim that the Central Government has withdrawn the Chandigarh Bill, no such withdrawal has actually taken place. “Mere statements are not enough,” Singh said.

Singh reaffirmed that Chandigarh is, and will always remain, the rightful capital of Punjab — a fact rooted in both history and law. “Our Constitution leaves no ambiguity: when a new state is carved out, the parent state retains its capital. Then why should Punjab be treated differently? Who else, apart from Punjab, can claim ownership of Chandigarh? Both the BJP and AAP are deliberately misleading the people — trying to rob Punjab of what is rightfully and lawfully ours,” he declared emphatically.

Expressing strong disapproval of the mock assembly sessions staged on Punjab’s crucial issues, Pargat Singh condemned the move as a disgraceful trivialization of the state’s democratic institutions. He said that organizing a so-called Assembly session with children in attendance was not only inappropriate but an insult to the sanctity of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. “The Aam Aadmi Party has turned serious matters of Punjab into a spectacle of mockery. Such acts reflect the alarming fall in the intellectual and moral standards of governance. Today, Assembly proceedings have been reduced to taunts and theatrics instead of meaningful debate on Punjab’s pressing challenges. The voices of the Opposition are deliberately silenced, and accountability is being mocked,” he stated. “The manner in which the AAP government is ridiculing the dignity of the Assembly is unacceptable and will face strong resistance from every responsible citizen of Punjab.”

On questions regarding a potential alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, Singh asserted that the both parties ideologies fundamentally clash. “The BJP’s actions are an open assault on Punjab’s rights and identity — trying to usurp Chandigarh and taking full control of the BBMB. At a time when Punjab’s federal autonomy itself is under attack, how can a regional party claiming to represent Punjabi interests even think of aligning with the BJP?” he questioned sharply.

Issued by:

Office of Pargat Singh, Former Education Minister and Secretary, All India Congress Committee