PM Manmohan singh to visit Chandigarh on Nov 3

CHANDIGARH: The Congress sees Prime Minister's visit to the city on November 3 as the golden opportunity to give a final push to the decision to revert back to the old system of Chief Commissioner, which had already been taken by the Ministry of Home Secretary (MHA) in principle.



The local unit of the Congress deciding to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the city on November 3

"We have already sought time from Dr Manmohan Singh and the issue of the restoration of Chief Commissioner's post will be high on the agenda. In fact, various acts of omission and commission of the Chandigarh Administration, headed by Punjab Governor SF Rodrigues, who also holds additional charge of the UT Administrator, on the mega projects front will also be brought to the notice of the Prime Minister,” Pardeep Chhabra, media coordinator for Pawan Bansal, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, said here on Monday.

The Prime Minister’s city visit seems to be perfectly timed for the Congress as the Governor’s terms expires on November 16 and a decision from the Prime Minister’s Office has come before that. Since Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had already opposed the delinking of the posts of the Punjab Governor and the UT Administrator, the local unit of the Congress wanted to “put the record straight” before Dr Manmohan Singh, the sources said.

Even Pawan Bansal, during his recent press conference against Rodrigues, had claimed he would take up the matter with the PM as the final decision was to be taken by him.