CHANDIGARH: I have survived several militant attacks in the past but now I am facing threats from certain Elements within the pany.
This was stated by the All-India Youth Congress president Maninderjit Singh Bitta at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) where he was re-admitted following an infection in his left leg which received a bone graft last month
He said the Political Secretary of the Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh had telephoned the SSPs to withdraw security from the office bearers of the Youth Congress in the state. Adequate security was also not being given to the workers participating in the marches taken out for national integration and communal harmony He further said he was facing political attacks.
He took serious note of the statement of Amarjit Singh Samra that Umrao Singh would meet the fate of Bitta with whom nobody wanted to shake hands. The statement was published in a section of the Press immediately after he had won the Nakodar by-election.
Bitta said these were the persons who were trying to weaken the party Where were Samra and Gurmit Singh when Punjab was facing terrorism he asked.
Bitta said Beant Singh was his political master and had tackled the problem of terrorism with courage.
He said if Beant Singh asked him to step down he would do so immediately.
The Youth Congress movement in Punjab had suffered a setback in the past due to certain elements in the party. He however claimed that the other group of the Youth Congress led by Ramesh Singh had an insignificant following in the state.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 17, 1994
