NEW DELHI: In a complete reversal, the Congress party on June 21st ruled out the possibility of change in the leadership in Punjab and declared that “there is no question of replacing Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar.”” Official spokesman of the party V.N. Gadgil asked party legislators in the state “to work within the parameters of unity and discipline,” Impishly Gadgil had said Thursday that Options Were open in Punjab including change in the leadership. When he was reminded of his statement, the spokesman said, “that is the reason why | am giving the clarification, l have now got the latest position.”

He Said, “all that has happened in the state is that some differences have arisen,” Senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel had been asked to look into the matter and the crisis could be resolved without changing the leadership. When he was reminded of his statement, the spokesman said, “that is the reason Why | am giving the clarification…1 have now got the latest position.” Asked if he had spoken to Congress president P.Y. Narasimha Rao before issuing the clarification, he said, “I have not met anybody.

According to Congress sources, the party high command was opposed to any change in the state since that could further intensify factionalism. “We have to face the elections in the state after a few months. How can we keep changing the Chief Minister,” the sources said. They said the leadership also did not want to succumb to the pressure being mounted by dissident legislators, who had submitted their resignations to the Assembly Speaker in support of their demand for replacing the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister will be asked to mend his ways and look into the problems of the legislators, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the dissident MLAs who had been camping in the Capital for the past several days refused to go back to Chandigarh. They disappeared from Punjab Bhawan last Thursday and are reported to be holidaying in Haryana and UP. Former Union Home Minister Buta Singh is spearheading the campaign against the Chief Minister and majority of sitting Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs from the state are also against him.

In fact, the president of Indian Youth Congress, Maninderjit Singh Bitta made it clear that he was not a candidate for the chief minister ship of Punjab. “Neither is l a candidate nor have l ever though to fit.” Bitta told media persons here. He said the Congress high command would take a decision on the crisis in the stale party unit where a number of party legislators have demanded that Brar be replaced. Bitte, however, admitted that the crisis had affected the party’s image in the state. The Akali Dal should not be at any cost allowed to come to power because that would ultimately result in the return of militancy.

In this connection, Bitta alleged that militancy was again raising its ugly head in Assam now that the Congress was not in power in the north eastern state. “The same thing could happen in Punjab also if the Akali Dal comes to power.”

Bitta came down heavily on Congress Working Committee member Rajesh Pilot for his reported demand that party president should step down.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 26, 1996