NEW DELHI: The Center is planning to set up a cell on Punjab comprising the representatives of all political parties to monitor events in the state on a daily basis.

The cell will also try to evolve a common approach to tackle the problems in the state so that all actions taken to deal with the situation there have “national sanction” official sources said. The Home Ministry working out details of the proposed cell which will be based here.

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party favor a consensual approach towards elections in the state now scheduled to be held before February 15 next. Senior leaders of both parties said that the major political parties should field common candidates against the terrorists and secessionists as had been decided earlier before the Congress decided not to contest the elections earlier scheduled for June 22.

However CPI general secretary M.Farooqi said that “so far we have had no indications from the Congress on the Punjab policy when it comes let us see”. He pointed out that the various Akali parties would also have to be considered in such an arrangement.

The Congress and the BJP also concur that there should be no appeasement of the militants and secessionists and that no invitation should be made to them for talks until the election process was over. Else this could prove counter-productive as in Assam. This view was expressed by BJP vice president Kishen Lal Sharma AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab affairs Rajendra Kumari Bajpai and leaders of the state unit of the Congress who declined to be identified.

As a gesture to the state that its genuine grievances would be redressed the Center is likely to refer the river waters dispute with Haryana to the Supreme Court. This has been a long-standing demand for the state Congress unit. The Center has however ruled out an early decision on Chandigarh. It has also avoided a commitment on the demand for a new commission to determine the linguistic status of the villages disputed by Punjab and Haryana official sources said.

As part of the no-appeasement policy the Congress and the BJP are also demanding that the army be brought in to seal the borders and paramilitary forces be deployed in the state in adequate strength to create an atmosphere in which free and fair elections can be held. A senior state leader said that the forces should be retained even after the electoral process was over to prevent retaliatory attacks against the rural population. A central leader agreed “This time no one will think of the early withdrawal of the army from Punjab”.

K.L.Sharma however said that the decision of the various Akali Dals not to participate in the elections on account of their being postponed was a major setback to the process of restoring normalcy in the state. He called for a concerted attempt to bring these parties back into the electoral arena.

To begin with he said his party has demanded that the Center immediately convene a meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council (which comprises representatives of all political parties) at Chandigarh to discuss the matter. Sharma said that Prime Minister’ P.Y.Narasimha Rao and Home: Minister S.B.Chayan should] attend this meeting which should be followed with an all-party meeting on Punjab in the capital. It is learnt that as a preliminary step Home Minister S.B.Chayan will visit Chandigarh for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the state.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 27, 1991