Demand for declaring Batala as district is under consideration: Capt Amarinder

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday that the demand for declaring Batala as a district was already under consideration and a final decision would be taken after due consideration of various issues involved.

He had received a similar representation from another Congress leader last month and was looking into the matter, said the Chief Minister, in response to the demand raised by his cabinet colleagues Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. Further, there have been some reports in the media over the past few days indicating that citizens of Batala have also publicly raised the demand for a new district to be carved out of their region, he pointed out.

The Chief Minister was surprised that neither Tripat nor Sukhjinder had seen the reports in the public domain nor deemed it fit to discuss the issue with him before shooting off a joint letter in this manner. “Had they come to me and spoken about it, I would have told them that I am already looking into the matter, and would have even consulted them in this regard,” quipped Captain Amarinder, taking a dig at the two ministers.

Capt Amarinder said that Pratap Singh Bajwa, MP had already demanded a district status for Batala, in his letter dated 11 August and had cited Batala’s historic importance and its connection with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who had married Mata Sulakhni here in 1487. The Chief Minister said he was cognisant of Batala’s significance to Punjab’s history and culture, as well as the public sentiment. He would discuss the issue with various stakeholders before taking a decision, he added.