By Jag Mohan Thaken
The Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, has said that the Indian Constitution clearly demarcated areas in which the Union and the States have to function to exercise their respective authority. He said that Federalism remains one of the basic pillars of our Constitution but unfortunately, there has been a trend towards centralization of authority during the past 75 years. Mann underlined that the state governments, being at the cutting edge, are in a much better position to understand, address and solve the problems of their people.
Why do the people of Punjab feel that the state’s powers, hold, and authority are being curtailed? What indications are reflecting this impression? Are dismantling the structure of Punjab University Senate, weakening the Punjab’s role in Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), controlling the clutch, gears, breaks and race of Chandigarh administration by the centre downsizing the Punjab’s share in its functioning mere a coincidence? Probably not, these actions themselves speak about some conspiracy; political observers think so. Punjab political leaders, setting aside their affiliations, also allege on the same lines.
Supporting the students, who are agitating over the issue of downsizing the senate of Punjab University (PU) by the centre, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, while giving a statement on 10th November, alleged, “From Parliament to our universities, the BJP is dismantling every democratic space and replacing it with control, nomination, and blind obedience. Panjab University was built on the spirit of autonomy, debate, and academic freedom — values that the BJP simply cannot tolerate. This is not reform. This is the death of democracy on our campuses.”
“The youth of Punjab will not allow Panjab University — a living emblem of our intellectual and cultural legacy — to become a pawn in the BJP’s political game, ” he said. “If the Centre continues this undemocratic interference, it will face stiff and united resistance from the people of Punjab’, Bajwa warned.
On November 15, Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal exhorted all political parties and social organisations to rise above party lines to support the issue of Panjab University.
Raising an alarm for the future step of the BJP led central government to bring the Chandigarh administration system under its clutches, Badal said, “PU issue is the first attempt to capture a prestigious institute of Punjab, and that after this, attempts are lined up to change the character of Chandigarh.”
He said that he had learnt that a separate recruitment policy for Chandigarh was being prepared. He said that when the state was reorganised in 1966, it was decided to post officers in a ratio of 60:40 from Punjab and Haryana, and now attempts are being made to create a separate cadre for Chandigarh along the lines of other UTs.
Commenting over the posting of outsiders in Chandigarh by the centre, the Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, raised the issue of maintaining the status quo of the 60:40 ratio in the intake of service personnel from Punjab and Haryana in the functioning of the UT of Chandigarh, and said that it is the need of the hour. He said that it is a matter of grave concern that officers of the IAS and the PCS have been excluded from key positions in the Chandigarh administration. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that posts in departments such as Excise, Education, Finance, and Health are being opened to cadres like the state UT cadre (DANICS), thereby adversely affecting the role of the state of Punjab in the effective functioning of the UT administration.
Why the Punjab Chief Minister and SAD Supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal are showing concern about the outsiders’ entry in Chandigarh administration? Is Punjab’s share of officers in Chandigarh administration being decreased by the centre? Indian Express (IE) in its web edition dated 6th November, reports, “Once regarded as a close-knit force run by homegrown officers deeply familiar with the city’s pulse, the Chandigarh Police today function under a markedly different structure — one increasingly steered by officers from outside cadres.”
“Over the past decade, the city’s more than 6, 000 personnel-strong police force has undergone a quiet yet defining transformation, with key command posts now largely held by officers from the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory) and DANIPS (Delhi Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service) cadres, reducing the once-dominant role of Chandigarh Police Service (CPS) officers. Either the IGP (Inspector General of Police) or DGP (Director General of Police) —- who have always been the IPS officers from the AGMUT cadre — heads the Chandigarh Police. Eight IPS (Indian Police Service) officers currently serve in the Chandigarh Police, of these, six top posts are headed by AGMUT officers, and two others — SSP (Chandigarh Police) and SSP (Traffic and Security) — are headed by officers of Punjab and Haryana respectively. Another top post — SP (Crime and Commandant IRBn) — is headed by a DANIPS cadre officer”, adds IE.
On the issue of Panjab University, the state Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann also pleads that the university has a deep connection with the people of Punjab adding that it is only Punjab which has been supporting and nurturing this University for the last 50 years. Now at this stage, he said that we do not understand why Haryana wants to affiliate its colleges with Panjab University, when they have already been affiliated for the last 50 years with Kurukshetra University, an A+ NAAC accredited university. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that he fails to understand What Has changed for Haryana to now seek this affiliation having ignored Panjab University for the last 50 years.
The Chief Minister said that as far as funding of Panjab University is concerned, Punjab has always financially supported this University and is committed to doing this in the future also, as per a mutually consultative process. He said that the Centre's recent attempts to restructure the university's governance have been seen as interference in Punjab's rights and to its state identity and autonomy. Bhagwant Singh Mann cautioned that Panjab University is not just an academic institution but forms an integral part of Punjabi identity adding he urged for the restoration of democratic processes, including the announcement of elections for the original 91-member Senate.
Punjab Chief Minister has also raised his voice, where he is smelling that the role of Punjab is being shortened. He has vehemently reiterated claim over Chandigarh, Panjab University, river waters besides advocating genuine federal structure in the country before the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the 32nd meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held on 17th November, 2025.
Vehemently pleading for handing over Chandigarh to the state of Punjab, the Chief Minister said that after the reorganization of the state Indira Gandhi Agreement of 1970 explicitly stated that "the capital project area of Chandigarh will, as a whole, go to Punjab, which was a clear commitment from the Central Government. He said that the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, signed on July 24th, 1985, between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, explicitly reaffirmed that Chandigarh will be transferred to Punjab. However, C M Mann bemoaned that despite all promises Chandigarh was not transferred to Punjab which has bruised the psyche of every Punjabi.
Voicing the issue of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the Chief Minister forcefully opposed the proposal to appoint a whole-time Member in BBMB from Rajasthan as the board is a body constituted under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which concerns only the successor states of Punjab and Haryana. He said that Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are already represented as ex-officio members, and creating additional whole-time posts will only increase expenditure most of which is borne by Punjab without serving any useful purpose. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that Punjab has already submitted a panel for appointment of Members and the Government of India should continue with the original arrangement of one Member each from Punjab and Haryana.
The Chief Minister said that Punjab is always at the mercy of BBMB and its bureaucratic controls adding that in case the control of the headworks is also taken away from Punjab, Punjab will be facing huge difficulties in controlling floods.
Do these steps of the central government to curtail the hold of Punjab, as alleged, in different institutions, reflect indications of some political vendetta? Is there any dense smoke of conspiracy being aired over the Punjab to make the atmosphere of the state hazy?