Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today raised the issue of early transfer of Chandigarh to the state with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also sought a Commission of Inquiry to probe the "entire conspiracy" behind the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
In his meeting with Modi, Badal along with his son and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal raised a host of issues concerning the state and handed over a memorandum of demands pending for over a decade, saying "Punjabis do not want a favour, but justice".
Besides raising the issue of riparian rights of water sharing for Punjab, he also demanded setting up of dedicated courts for speedy trial of cases of 1984 riot victims and a package for their rehabilitation.
He said the Commission of Inquiry, headed by a Supreme Court judge, should probe the "entire conspiracy, including official and political patronage" behind the riots and submit its report within six months.
He also sought reinvestigation of all riots-related cases where action was not taken on complaints.
Raising the demand of early transfer of Chandigarh, he asked Modi to speed up the process along with transfer of other Punjabi-speaking areas to the state in fulfillment of what he described as "the broad national consensus on the issue as expressed through the parliamentary ratification in July 1985 of the state's right on its capital and other areas".
Badal bemoaned that when the state was reorganised, grave injustice was done to it saying the most glaring example of this was denial of the capital city Chandigarh to Punjab, which should be transferred forthwith and the process of transfer of other Punjabi-speaking areas left out of Punjab initiated without any further delay.
He pitched the demand in the backdrop of a long history of struggle waged by the people of Punjab and said, "Punjabis are entitled to a very special liberal treatment from the government of India, yet all the demands contained in the both parts of the memorandum accompanying this letter are based solely on merit. Punjabis seek no favours. They expect only justice from the government of India.
