NEW DELHI: The Congress Members of Parliament belonging to Punjab have pleaded with the Prime Minister to take steps for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, declaration of Punjab as the second language in the neighboring states, a fair share in the interstate waters dispute, and punishment to the guilty of November 1984 killing of Sikhs.

The group of MPs said that the Situation in Punjab had improved considerably and it was high time that the hands of the state government were strengthened. This could be done by scuttling the territorial and water disputes: An early transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab would send the right signals, they pleaded.

The 15: MPs who called on the Prime Minister Dec.16 were assured by P. V.Narasimha Rao that a very early solution would be found for settling these problems.

The MPs pleaded the case of Punjab and requested the Prime Minister to resolve the longstanding issues, Earlier, Balbir Singh raised the issue of punishment to the guilty of 1984 killings in the Rajya Sabha, He castigated the government’s indifferent attitude and urged the Home Ministry to wake up from the slumber, He reminded that during the last session of Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Home Affairs had categorically stated that the report of the Jain Aggarwal Commission would be tabled in the House. He regretted that the winter session was going to end on December 24 and till date; the assurance given had not been honored. This inaction on the part of the government was a clear breach of privilege of the House, Balbir Singh retreated his earlier doubt about the intentions of the government.

Balbir Singh further stated that the indicted persons who were directly responsible for the rout of the Congress in the Delhi elections were still clinging to the party offices. He further told the House that there were reports and indications in the media that these persons would be offered plum like governorship etc. It was rather unfortunate that the secular image of the Congress party had been tarnished because of the guilty persons who had not been booked for their offences and the due process of the law had been jeopardized.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 24, 1993