Chandigarh: War of words between Haryana and Punjab over territorial and water issues has once again hotted up with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday disputing claims made by Punjab on Chandigarh.
"Chandigarh belongs to Haryana as earlier it was a part of Ambala and we will definitely get it," Hooda asserted while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function on Thursday evening.
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had asserted that Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and no other state can stake claim over the city.
"If they (Punjab) are claiming Chandigarh on the basis of it being the capital of erstwhile Punjab, then Lahore and Shimla too have remained capitals of Punjab. Why don`t they stake claim on Lahore and Shimla also," Hooda asked stressing, Chandigarh is the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
Hooda has recently been on the offensive after Punjab government decided to remodel Mullanpur town bordering Chandigarh as `New Chandigarh`, maintaining that it was "unethical to do so".
Hooda said he had no objection to Punjab government`s decision to develop Mullanpur as "we have also developed Panchkula and are developing Kalka and Pinjore."
"However, Chandigarh is a brand name and one should not copy it. It is completely unethical," he said. A few days back, Hooda had lashed out at Punjab on water issues saying, Haryana will fight to the last to secure every drop of the state`s share of water.
PTI
