NEW DELHI: Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao’s much Awaited visit to Punjab has been postponed for the third time in a Tow in three months.
The proposed trip for which the Home Ministry had been doing the ground work has been put off indefinitely sources said. If the trip to the trouble torn border State ever comes about it may well be after the Presidential elections in July.
While the Prime Ministers political compulsions may have forced him to postpone the trip militants have also gone out of their way to queer the pitch for the proposed visit according to Union Home Ministry sources.
Narasimha Raos immediate priority would be to complete the constitution of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to be followed by the reshuffle of his Cabinet.
Also as Raos visit could generate hopes of a package as has been stated by the Home Minister it had been decided to put off the trip sources indicated. While the “Home Minister has been repeatedly talking about a package the Prime Minister is Said to be chary about it particularly since there is no meeting ground on the issue between Punjab and Haryana both of which are ruled by Congress.
In view of the rather precarious position which the Congress finds itself in for the Presidential elections the High Command could ill afford to displease a State unit of the party by appearing to favor another slate party sources pointed out.
A senior party leader from Punjab explained “In announcing a package we are only going to give something to the State. We must be allowed however to do it at the time of our choosing.”
Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and his Haryan a counterpart Bhajan Lal met the Prime Minister but refused to cede ground significant enough to hammer out a settlement. While Lal admitted that differences persisted Beant Singh said that no package was in the offing because the talks were at a preliminary stage.
Asked about the proposed visit of the Prime Minister to Punjab Singh was evasive.” He can come to Punjab anytime he wants to. After all he is the Prime Minister In fact I have also invited him to visit Punjab” Beant Singh told “The Pioneer.”
There were several indications that the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab was a near certainty soon after the Parliament session ended. At least two teams of the Special Protection Group the SPG is in charge of the Prime Ministers proximate security visited Punjab recently to pave the way for the VIP tip.
Also Union Home Minister S.B Chavan when he visited Fatehgarh Saheb on April 26 repeatedly proclaimed that he was in Punjab as an “advance guard” of the Prime Minster. He could not announce any package because it should be left to the Prime Minister he had added.
Apart from the political compulsions of Narasimha Rao the militants have also stepped up violence in an apparent bid to Sabotage a settlement according to Home Ministry sources.
“An attempt was made recently to establish contact with the militants but some of the hardline groups have raised the level of violence to scuttle them altogether” remarked a Home Ministry official.
Interestingly Home Minister Chavan had said during his visit to the state that the law and order situation had improved after the induction of the popular government “We have also noted the fact repeatedly that whenever the Government claims that the situation is under control militants step up their violence to prove otherwise” said an official.
Perhaps the most determined bid to sabotage the PMs Visit to the Golden Temple came from organizations sympathetic to the militant cause the latter particularly a Ludhiana based organization of Sikh lawyers started the debate whether the Prime Minister would receive special treatment from the SGPC.
On May 8 came the reply of the SGPC supremo G.S.Tohra. No “siropa” would be presented to the PM by the SGPC and he would be treated as an ordinary visitor declared Tohra.
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