Home Minister Amit Shah says culprits of Delhi bomb blast will get ‘strictest possible punishment’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday (November 17, 2025) said the culprits of the November 10 Delhi blast will be brought before the country’s judiciary and given the strictest possible punishment.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, eliminating terrorism from its roots is our collective commitment,” said Mr. Shah in Faridabad in Haryana as he chaired the 32nd meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC).

The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers Nayab Singh Saini (Haryana), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan), Omar Abdullah (Jammu and Kashmir), and Rekha Gupta (Delhi); Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh Gulab Chand Kataria; and Lieutenant-Governors Manoj Sinha (Jammu and Kashmir), Vinai Kumar Saxena (Delhi), and Kavinder Gupta (Ladakh), among others.

Mr. Shah said Zonal Councils are extremely important for dialogue, cooperation, coordination, and policy synergy. In the meeting, Himachal Pradesh asked the Centre to secure Himachal’s legitimate right over the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

Haryana raised the issue of non-construction of Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the focal point of a water-sharing dispute between Haryana and Punjab. Meanwhile, Punjab reasserted its long-standing claims over several key issues, including Chandigarh, Panjab University, and the sharing of river waters, and advocated for a genuine federal structure in the country.

Advocating for Himachal Pradesh’s legitimate right of 7.19% share on Chandigarh, in land and assets, Mr. Sukhu said the demand adhered to the mandate under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. He also sought the release of pending dues from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) as per the Supreme Court’s decision and appointment of a permanent member from Himachal in the BBMB.

Mr. Saini said proper arrangements must be ensured for supplying each state its rightful share of water. “Haryana has consistently been giving Delhi more water than its own share. However, due to the non-construction of the SYL canal, Haryana is not receiving its full share of water from Punjab. Once Haryana receives its rightful share of water through SYL, Rajasthan will also get its due share,” said Mr. Saini.

Mr. Mann said that federalism remained one of the basic pillars of our Constitution but unfortunately, there was a trend towards centralisation of authority during the past 75 years. Mr. Mann demanded handing over Chandigarh to Punjab, saying after the reorganisation of the State, the Indira Gandhi agreement of 1970 explicitly stated that “the capital project area of Chandigarh will, as a whole, go to Punjab, which was a clear commitment from the Central government.

Mr. Mann reiterated, “Punjab has no surplus water to spare through SYL.”