Major political parties welcomed as a right and a correct step the decision of the election commission not to hold elections in Punjab and Assam along with the rest of the country in May.
The Congress-I led by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi which stoutly opposed the polls in the two states said the decision was the right thing to do under the present circumstances.
The safety of the people in the two states must have weighed uppermost before the commission took the decision, AICC general Teak pare Jhakar said.
The deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal while welcoming the decision said the election commission wants to ensure a free and fair poll.
Leaders of the former ruling party, Janata Dal, which had welcomed the government’s decision to hold the polls on Thursday declined to comment.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 19, 1991
