Chandigarh Mar 28 PTI Senior Punjab Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa on Monday slammed the Centre for its decisions on the Bhakra Beas Management Board BBMB and service rules of Chandigarh UT employees saying these are against the countrys federal structure Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday had announced here that the central service rules will apply to the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh and this will benefit them in a big way Earlier the change in appointment rules for top officers to the BBMB had raked up a storm with many political parties in Punjab and Haryana criticising the Centre Bajwa also urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take an all-party delegation to take up these issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi These decisions taken by the Centre undermine the federal structure of the country said Bajwa who represents Qadian in the Punjab assembly said Multiple decisions taken by the Union government are against the federal structure of the Indian Constitution and require strong action by the Punjab government to defend the self-respect and interests of the state he said in a statement Bajwa said the Centre has changed the norms of selecting the full-time chairperson of the BBMB and its members for posts irrigation and power The two posts of irrigation and power as per conventional practice were always filled by candidates from Haryana and Punjab respectively he said Punjab and Haryana bear the maximum percentage of expenses in the management of the BBMB In this scenario the central government by amending the rules is attempting to reduce the representation of the states on the BBMB and harm the interests of Punjab which is also a part owner of the project he said Referring to Shahs announcement at Chandigarh on Sunday on employee service rules Bajwa said The central government announced that the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh would come under the central civil service rules This is another action which undermines the role of Punjab in Chandigarh He said he requests Chief Minister Mann to consult with the Punjab Advocate General and explore all legal remedies available to the state I further request him to take an all-party delegation from Punjab to meet with the prime minister to make it clear that these decisions are strongly opposed by all parties from Punjab Bajwa said Furthermore accepting these actions by the central government would end the claim of Punjab over Chandigarh claimed the Congress leader I request the chief minister to also stake Punjabs claim over the city of Chandigarh with the central government at the earliest he said Bajwa claimed that all these unilateral decisions of the Centre could potentially harm the hard-won peace earned by every Punjabi These actions could potentially be explored by outside forces and we must take every step to show the people of Punjab that we are fighting to defend their rights he said Earlier the change in appointment rules for top officers to the BBMB had raked up a storm with many political parties in Punjab and Haryana criticising the Centre The BBMB which is a statutory body under the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966 and manages the water resources of Sutlej and Beas has a whole-time chairman and two members for irrigation and power Political leaders have claimed that according to the BBMB Rules 1974 the member power in BBMB was from Punjab and the member irrigation was from Haryana but the requirement has been removed in the amended rules PTI SUN VSD ANB ANB

Chandigarh Feb 28 PTI Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K P Singh on Monday met Governor Banwarilal Purohit and said the recent change in rules for the selection of two members of the Bhakra Beas Management Board BBMB would be detrimental to the interests of Punjab and Haryana Singh submitted a memorandum to the governor on the issue and requested him to take up it with the Centre The change in rules has started a controversy with several political leaders in Punjab strongly opposing the Centres move The BJP alleged a deliberate attempt by some leaders to create confusion on the matter The BBMB which is a statutory body under the Punjab Reorganisation Act-1966 and manages the water resources of Sutlej and Beas has a whole-time chairman and two members of irrigation and power According to convention the member power is always from Punjab and the member irrigation is from Haryana They are selected from a panel of senior engineers But now the change in rules for selection allows anyone to apply for these posts Shiromani Akali Dal Sanyukt chief Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Monday left for Delhi to meet Union Home minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue Dhindsa said the decision to abolish the representation of Punjab from the BBMB would weaken the federal structure of the country and hence the Union government should immediately reverse its decision Punjab is already not getting an adequate supply of water and this discrimination has been continuously going on since the formation of Punjab Dhindsa said in a statement BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh hit out at the Congress and the Akali leaders for their misleading statements on the working of the BBMB In a statement Chugh said There was a deliberate attempt by some political leaders to create confusion and arouse public sentiments against the Centre The canard being spread by the Congress has been exposed with the BBMB stating that there is no attempt to change the already existing system to give due representation to Punjab and Haryana the BJP leader said PTI CHS VSD SMN SMN