NEW DELHI-: Hectic political activity, was afoot in the capital to evolve a package for Punjab which the Prime Minister, P.V .Narasimha Rao is slated to announce in about a months’ time,

The Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh met his Haryana counterpart, Bhajan Lal to thrash out certain nagging problems between the two states. Subsequently, Beant Singh met the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, S.B.Chavan, Later; the newly elected Rajya Sabha members from Punjab were addressed by the Prime Minister at a dinner hosted by them. Beant Singh was also present at the dinner meeting.

The details of the discussions were not disclosed but there were indications that some progress was made on the issue of transfer of Chandigarh and territorial dispute. However, sources said differences continued to persist between the two states on the thorny water issue but new proposals have been made to resolve the differences,

In an informal chat with newsmen at the dinner meeting, the Prime Minister described the progress as “positive.” He, however, declined to disclose the details saying that he was seeking cooperation of all concerned,

Addressing the MPs from the State, Narasimha Rao said that sensitive issues were involved which required a cautious approach. He advised them to desist from rushing to the Press and from issuing controversial statements, He said that the country’s unity and integrity-was of paramount importance and asked them to work for the restoration of peace.

The Punjab Chief Minister, while talking to newsmen, ruled out the division of Chandigarh as part of the proposed Punjab package. He said that Chandigarh was created by Le Cabusier and the symbol of the city was an “open hand.” He said it was impossible to “cut the open hand” and asserted that the entire city must be transferred to Punjab.

Beant Singh said that during his meeting with the Prime Minister, the issues concerning the package also came up for discussion. He said that “good progress” had been achieved but said that no date has so far been fixed for the Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab. The Chief Minister said that his government would not compromise on the interests of the country and the state. Reliable sources said that Punjab would not be averse to giving Manimajra and adjoining areas in lieu of Chandigarh to Haryana.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 22, 1992