Will knock the door of SC if rights of Himachal Pradesh not given by the Centre: CM
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has said that he will meet the Union Ministers to release the aid to Himachal under the Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA).
The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday allowed the Union government to withdraw seven companies of the Armed Police Forces (CAPF) from Darjeeling hills in West Bengal.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, asked West Bengal government to respond within a week to the Centre’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court order directing it to allow all 15 companies of paramilitary forces to remain in the state.
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The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, stayed the pending proceedings before the Calcutta High Court saying it will deal with the case “in a holistic manner”.
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The court has now fixed the appeal of the Centre for further hearing on November 27.
The Calcutta HC had on October 17 ordered an interim stay on the withdrawal of forces and asked the Home Affairs Ministry to cite appropriate reasons for the removal of forces deployed in Darjeeling while directing the Centre to keep all 15 companies of central forces in the region.
The Centre had then approached the apex court against the order. The Centre’s plea was heard by a bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer.
On October 15, the MHA had ordered the withdrawal of 10 of the 15 CAPF companies from the hills, stating that these needed to be deployed in other states due to impending festive season and coming elections.
However, after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised objections and called up Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Centre decided to pull out seven companies.
Banerjee termed the Centre’s decision as “unfortunate and unilateral” and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh, claiming the move was a violation of a High Court order.
She said that at a time when the state government was trying to restore normalcy and peace in the hills, withdrawing central forces runs contrary to common sense and poses threat to national security and integrity as Darjeeling was strategically located.
(With inputs from agencies)
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