NEW DELHI, Nov. 26 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party's Punjab unit was blindsided by the Union government's proposal to introduce the Constitution (131 Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the upcoming winter session of Parliament that sought to include the Union territory of Chandigarh in Article 240 of the Constitution which would alter the its administrative structure, said people aware of the details. The state unit is learnt to have conveyed its concerns to the party high command about the ramification of the move on the state's internal security as well as party's electoral fortune in Punjab, the people quoted above said. The Union home ministry on Sunday issued a statement that the proposal was "under consideration" amid an uproar over the move and sought to allay concerns that the administration of Chandigarh would be put on a par with other UTs, including Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Puducherry (when its legislative assembly is dissolved or suspended). Speaking on condition of anonymity, senior BJP leaders from Punjab said they had not been consulted about the Bill, which found a mention in the list of business to be taken up in the winter session beginning December 1. "The Centre did the right thing by immediately issuing a statement and putting it in abeyance, but it has dented the party's image in the state. The proposal seems to have been drafted by bureaucrats without taking political leaders on board.it is particularly worrisome that such a decision was taken without weighing the outcome of it in a state like Punjab, which is a border state and has suffered on account of terrorism," said a senior leader in the state. The leader said the proposal gave the opposition ammunition to target the BJP and the Union government, and sent out a message that the centre wants to take over the administration of Chandigarh by "ulterior means". "At a time when the BJP is trying to expand its footprint in the state and emerge as an alternative, such proposals undo our efforts.there is a sentiment against the BJP since the Jana Sangh days, which was stoked further by the (now scrapped) farm bills, this new Bill would have created a much bigger problem," said the leader. A second leader, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposal was "particularly ill-timed as it comes close on the heels of the agitation in Ladakh." "There is already a problem brewing in another UT which is also a border area, to create a fresh problem in Punjab is both politically and strategically ill-thought of," the second leader said. In September, at least four people were killed and over 70 injured during protests in Ladakh to seek the restoration of statehood in the union territory that was carved out in 2019, following the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories. Even as the state unit, including its president Sunil Jakhar, have gone on record to assert that UT is an integral part of Punjab, state leaders said they will have to redouble efforts to reach out to the people with the assurance of a status quo....