Service conditions of Chandigarh UT employees to be aligned to central civil services, says Amit Shah

Chandigarh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the service conditions of employees of the Chandigarh Union Territory administration will now be aligned to that of the central civil services and this will benefit them in a “big way”. He also said that women employees will now get child care leave of two years from the current one year. On the announcement for employees, he said, “This was a long pending demand of employees of the Chandigarh administration. Today, the Modi government has made a big decision”. “Tomorrow a notification will be issued and from the upcoming financial year (1 April) you will get the benefit,” Shah said. However, the minister’s announcement evoked sharp reaction from some rivals of the BJP. Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema in a tweet said,”MOH’s (Ministry of Home Affairs) decision to impose central government rules on employees of Chandigarh is in violation of the spirit of the Punjab Reorg (Reorganisation) Act and must be reconsidered.” “This means denial of right of Capital to Punjab for ever. After changes in the BBMB (Bhakra Beas Management Board) rules, this is another big blow to the rights of Punjab,” he said. The Union Territory of Chandigarh is the common capital of Punjab and Haryana. “Chandigarh is Punjab (common) capital and adhoc arrangement of UT (Union Territory) was made. Sixty per cent employees are of Punjab and the rest of Haryana… at the time of reorganisation, it was agreed that Punjab government rules would be applicable on employees of the UT. This decision of the Centre is dictatorial and has been taken without consulting the state of Punjab,” Cheema later told the media. “Today’s decision is a conspiracy to dilute Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh. We oppose it,” he said, while further adding “the decision is against the spirit of federalism”. Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira also condemned the decision. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.