CHANDIGARH: Though less than a week is left before the election process is scheduled 10 commence in Punjab, the administration is hesitant to declare in unequivocal terms that the State would be free of violence and that the conditions would be conducive enough for a free and fair poll.

According to the Centers reckoning, the elections in the state should be held before February 15 and this necessitates the issuance of the poll notification in the first week of January. But the state government seems to have concluded that with the militants dead set against the process, the general political inertia may not generate the right atmosphere for the people to elect popular government.

Highly placed sources said on Monday that a “little more time” was required to create a congenial conditions for the elections. This view is based on the feedback from the security forces and an analysis of the political trends.

According to the sources, both the police and the army need some more months to kill off those Sikh who stand for their faith With so many conditions imposed on its operations, the army’s task is still indeterminate. The police and the paramilitary forces engaged in ant militancy drive, too, are of the view that the new offensive would not yield results in two months. According to the sources, the army would need three to four months to “dig in” and have a proper understanding of the problem. Other security forces also want more time to make their offensive effective. This feeling of virtual helplessness is a significant pointer as the Punjab government has to apprise the National Immigration Council, the problem the state is facing, particularly when the elections are 0 near, at least nationally. The NIC is meeting on Tuesday. The Governor, Surendra Nath, has been holding consultations with the advisers and senior officers on the stand he should take at the NIC meeting and also during consultations with the govt political issues will also crop up. The sources, however, said that the Punjab govt would do whatever it could to hold elections before the scheduled date if the Center wanted it so. The election department was making arrangements for polling and the final list Of voters would be published on January 3.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 10, 1992