In a significant move, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced that the service conditions of all the employees of Chandigarh administration will be aligned to that of central civil services. “I want to give this good news to employees of the Chandigarh administration. From today, the service conditions of all employees of the Chandigarh administration will be aligned with the central civil services. This will bring big gains to the employees,” he said.

With the decision, the retirement age of employees in the Union Territory will increase from 58 to 60 years. The move, however, invited sharp criticism from political parties, including Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress. “MOH’s decision to impose Central government rules on employees of Chandigarh is in violation of the spirit of Punjab (Reorganisation) Act and must be reconsidered. This means denial of the right of Capital to Punjab forever. After changes in Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) rules, this is another big blow to the rights of Punjab,” SAD leader Daljit S Cheema said on Twitter.

Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira tweeted, “We strongly condemn the dictatorial decision of the BJP to usurp the rights of Punjab over control of Chandigarh. It belongs to Punjab and this unilateral decision is not only a direct attack on federalism but also an attack on Punjab’s share of 60% control over the UT.” Chandigarh is the joint capital of the two neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab.

Earlier during the day, Shah said by using technology Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured hassle-free delivery of Covid-19 vaccine and free ration for the poor during the pandemic. The home minister was speaking at Chandigarh where he inaugurated a state-of-the-art Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). “In the last seven years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, a lot of work has been done in many fields in the country. The biggest work under the leadership of Modi ji has been the manufacturing of the indigenous Covid vaccine and making 185 crore doses of it available to the country. The whole world is astonished that in a country with a population of 130 crores, everyone gets the vaccine easily without any fuss ,” he said.