CHANDIGARH: The All India Sikh Students Federation Manjit purposes to send a probe mission to Delhi consisting of representatives of militants and other organisations to assess the capacity and intention of the prime minister to solve the Punjab problem.

Addressing a news conference here the AISSF president Mr Manjit Singh who has recently been released from jail asked the Sikhs who were now fully aware of the moves of the government to confuse and humiliate them by going in for useless. For the outcome of some concrete results it is necessary to assess the strength of the Prime Minister. He said the AISSF would shortly consult militant and non-militant organisations political parties and human rights bodies involved in the current struggle for this purpose.

He said the intention of the government would be judged from whether it was willing to release all the detainees including Mr Harjinder Singh and Mr Sukhdev Singh and seven hijackers close the torture centers and withdraw army from Punjab. However he clarified that these would not be preconditions for talks.

Mr Manjit Singh said the AISSF was in no hurry to go to Delhi but would try to assess as to how much the government was willing to give. The talks would not be secret and the entire Panth would be taken into confidence.

The AISSF president said it appeared that Mr Chandra Shekhar was more sincere then his predecessors in solving the Punjab problem and had even gone to this extent of saying that he was prepared even to discuss the Khalistan issue with the militants.

While welcoming the Prime Minister’s invitation for talks Mr Manjit Singh said the past experience of such talks was bitter and hence the probe mission. While on the one hand Mr Chandra Shekhar was almost daily extending the invitation killings of Sikh youth molestation of women and deployment of army continued on the other hand.

NEW DELHI: The union government has finalized the list of backward castes which could get benefit of 27% reservation in jobs.

Article extracted from this publication >> February 1, 1991