CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Janata Party will contact seven Lok Sabha and 60 assembly seats in Punjab if no understanding is arrived at with other political party’s to give a joint fight against militant forces in the forthcoming elections in the state
Addressing a news conference here on Saturday after the meeting of its election committee the party general secretary Madan Lal Khurana said efforts were being made to probe the possibility of roping in the parties opposed to secessionism and militancy. He identified Akali Dal (Kabul) as one such party Dr Baldev Parkash all India vice-president said he had discussed this proposal with the Communist Party of India leader Satya Pal Dang and the response was positive.
Khurana said the party’s office bearers would meet on January 21 in Delhi to finalize the list of candidates as by that time the two-member election subcommittee consisting of its Punjab unit president Madan Mohan Mittal and Dr.Baldev Parkash would talk to other parties Mittal said some Congress (I) leaders had approached him with the idea of “arriving at some understanding in spite of the Fact that the Congress(I) had already announced its decision to contest all the assembly and Lok Sabha seats.
Khurana expressed the apprehension of militants putting up their candidates in spite of the poll boycott call and said a common front was the only answer.
The BIP leaders appealed to the “Akali store consider their decision boycott elections as they had fallen into the Congress (I) trap. The elections would be meaningless without the Akalis Khurana observed. He said it was a turning in the state politics. He said all parties including the Akalis and BIP had been demanding restoration of the democratic process in the state and now that the process had been initiated the Akalis had decided to stay away.
Khurana said an accountable government should be formed in Punjab to which the Center could talk to solve him lingering problem. Reacting to the proposed package for Punjab Khurana said the government had only added to the mess by first raising the aspirations of the people and then backing out. He said any announcement after the poll date had been announced would lack credibility.. He said the government should have taken other parties into confidence and there should be no ad hoe decision.
The BIP leaders had a tough time in explaining their stand on the issues relating to the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and a solution to the river water dispute. Khurana said it was for Punjab leaders to reply. Dr. Baldev Parkash clarified that the Punjab BJP was for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab without transferring Fazilka and Abohar to Haryana. The river water dispute should be referred to the Supreme Court. Khurana said a consensus should be evolved on these issues but could not give a satisfactory reply as to why there was no consensus in BJP on these issues with the units in Punjab Haryana and Chandigarh having different views.
Krishan Lal Sharma butted in saying in case of inter-state disputes the party had allowed holding different views. He said his party would support the decisions arrived at through consensus. Khurana refused 10 explain the stand of the national leadership.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 31, 1992
