Demand for plot in Chandigarh: Will run party office from outside Raj Bhawan if land not allotted, says AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused Punjab governor and Union Territory (UT) administrator Banwarilal Purohit of deliberately not allotting land to the party in Chandigarh and warned if the space is not allotted soon, they will run their office from outside the Raj Bhawan
Chandigarh : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused Punjab governor and Union Territory (UT) administrator Banwarilal Purohit of deliberately not allotting land to the party in Chandigarh and warned if the space is not allotted soon, they will run their office from outside the Raj Bhawan.
AAP’s Punjab chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said the governor is not giving office space to the AAP in Chandigarh despite it being a national party and the ruling party of the state.
The Chandigarh administration has turned down AAP’s request for a “suitable” plot in the UT for its office, saying the party does not fulfil the criteria for such allotment. It said that a political party can get land for its office in the city if it meets two grounds: first, it should have a national party status, and second, it should have an elected member of Parliament from Chandigarh in the last 20 years.
“The BJP is actually conspiring to end Punjab’s authority over Chandigarh through the governor. That is why the ruling party of Punjab is not being given land in Chandigarh to open its office,” he said, expressing strong displeasure over the Chandigarh administration ignoring their request in this regard.
Kang said that AP’s Punjab chief and chief minister Bhagwant Mann wrote letters thrice to Purohit and the party’s secretary and general secretary also wrote to the Chandigarh administration and the governor, but the matter is being deliberately ignored.
The AAP chief spokesperson said the BJP and Congress have two offices each in Chandigarh. “The BJP has only two MLAs in Punjab. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also has its own office. Then why is the AAP not being allotted land for office?” he asked.
The AAP leader said the AAP has its government in Punjab and Delhi, MLAs in Gujarat and Goa, one Lok Sabha member and 10 Rajya Sabha members, besides 14 councillors in the Chandigarh municipal corporation. “In what capacity, then the Chandigarh administration refused to give office land to the party?” he questioned. He said the governor should decide on this as soon as possible and allot a plot to the AAP, otherwise the party would run its office from outside the Raj Bhawan.
