JALANDHAR: The Akali Dal (Badal) has decided to hold a rally at the Boat Club, in Delhi, on the opening day of the winter session of Parliament to herald the beginning of “Lok Sangharsh” to focus the nation’s attention on the “simmering Punjab problem” for its early solution and mobilizing public opinion for “autonomy of the states in a federalized system.’ Announcing this at a press conference after attending the party district unit’s meeting here, on Nov.7, party president Parkash ‘Singh Badal said that the party had decided to organize the rally in Delhi in place of the proposed November 14 rally, at Chandigarh, because the party held the view that the solution of the problem and the issue of the state’s autonomy had to be decided at the Union Government level. He said his party had decided to observe 1995 as the “Year of People’s Struggle” during which it would wage a struggle to achieve the Dal’s objective of autonomous states in a federal framework in cooperation with likeminded par ties in the country because the party strongly felt that “the permanent solution to problems faced by the people of India and minorities in particular was linked with the question of autonomy of states in a federalized polity.” Badal reiterated, “Beneath the surface level calm and peace in Punjab, there is a strong undercurrent of disappointment and disillusionment, resentment and restlessness in the minds of Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular about the continuing negative attitude of the Center towards their rights and interests.” Mr. Badal said, “The saga of discriminations and denial of justice to the Punjab and Punjabis on political, economic, religious, social and linguistic level is unending. A satisfactory solution is nowhere in sight of the basic issues, such as the right of Punjab in its water resources, transfer of Chandigarh, restoration of the left out Punjabi speaking areas, second language status of Punjabi in the neighboring states, failure to punish the operators of the November 1984 riots, rehabilitation of the victims and continuing detention of Sikh youth in violation of all norms of justice.” He said that the political scene in Punjab was deteriorating day by day with the ever increasing corruption at all levels of the government, suppression of civil liberties and violation of human rights by an unbridled police force, which had invited severe strictures from the Supreme Count High Court.
In a statement circulated at the press conference, the Akali leader said, “The misuse of official machinery and grave irregularities committed in the recent panchayat poll amount to a fraud in the name of grassroots democracy.”
Article extracted from this publication >> November 11, 1994
