Punjab Chief Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister have indulged into a verbal spat over the creation of new district in Punjab. UP CM Yogi Adityantth called out the Congress led Punjab government for creation of Malerkotla district. In response, now the Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has said that Mr Adityanath's comment was an "attempt to incite communal hatred in the peaceful state as part of the BJP's divisive policies."
The Punjab Government on Friday announced the state's newest and its 23rd district named Malerkotla, some 131 km from Chandigarh, after carving it out from Sangrur district.
Making the announcement, Amarinder Singh had wrote, "Happy to share that on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, my government has announced Malerkotla as the newest district in the state. The 23rd district holds huge historical significance. Have ordered to immediately locate a suitable site for the district administrative complex."
Addressing a state-level event to greet people on Eid-ul-Fitr, the chief minister also announced a Rs 500-crore medical college, a women's college, a new bus stand and a women police station in Malerkotla.
"I know this has been a long-pending demand," he said through video conference.
However, UP CM Yogi Adityanath was irked by the Punjab govt's move and in a tweet he wrote, "Any distinction based on faith and religion is contrary to the spirit of India's Constitution. At this time, the formation of Malerkotla (Punjab) is a reflection the divisive policy of the Congress."
To which Captain Amarinder Singh also asked, "What does he (Mr Adityanath) know of Punjab's ethos or the history of Malerkotla, whose relationship with Sikhism and its Gurus was known to every Punjabi? And what does he understand of the Indian Constitution, which is being brazenly trampled every day by his own government in UP?"
The newly formed district remained largely peaceful during Partition in 1947, which saw communal clashes and large-scale migration of people across the India-Pakistan border.
