AMRITSAR: The SIP leader and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar said here last week that a “deceptive peace” was prevailing in Punjab and there was an urgent need to hold a dialogue with all the concemed panties including the militants to bring about a lasting peace in the state. Chandra Shekhar told reporters that the Punjab problem was still alive and the “quietness that seemingly exists in the state is disturbing.

 Justifying the reconciliatory talks initiated with the militants during his tenure as Prime Minister Shekhar said he favored a dialogue with anybody “howsoever foolish he maybe” so long as “he considers himself 10 be a part of India.” Shekhar said his dialogue with the leaders of the militant “could not yield tangible results” at that time due to the premature expiry of his term as Prime Minister. The talks with the militants did not mean that he was softening his stand towards them he added.

The talks were meant to understand their minds and to convince them that they were treading a wrong path he said “You do not stand firing shots at a family member who goes astray. You need to win him over with persuasion or mild coercion.

The SJP Ieaders favored similar talks with the Kashmiri militants provided they accepted India’s sovereignly.

Shekhar is on a three-day tour to the state to mobilize public opinion against the GATT agreement.

Referring to the country’s diplomatic victory at Geneva as a short term gain he said: “We must not direct our foreign policy according to the dictates of others. On our own we need to strive to find a solution to the problem” he added.

The Center he said was misleading the nation on the GATT issue and the country had absolutely nothing to gain in the field of agriculture of textiles.

The right way for economic growth was not to go in for agreements like GATT but to exploit the natural resources within the country and within the Gandhians framework he said. He warned that the developed nations intended to lead the nation towards Economic slavery.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 22, 1994