CHANDIGARH: The long delayed elections in Punjab may not be held so long as Simranjit Singh Mann insists on enforcing Punjab rights to all its river waters or he does not become weak enough to be written off as a political force,
This appears to be the hard conclusion analysts have drawn from the current political initiative centered on the elections.
A new element in the Punjab drama has been added by the move made by Rajiv Gandhi in sending Jagmeet Singh Brar to Punjab with the slogan of filling up the SYL canal. Not that Rajiv has abandoned his own mother’s project in Punjab. It was the late Indira Gandhi who laid the stone of the project in Kapuni village on April 8, 1982.
Again it was not only Rajiv Gandhi who made the SYL a federal scheme in the Rajiv Longowal accord but in an unprecedented move ordered that the entire project cost of Rs 500 corer to be borne by the center.
As expected the Punjab Congress I has disassociated itself from Brar’s move. It is obvious that Brar would not be harmed so long as he has Gandhi’s support.
Gandhi’s game plan seems to be to raise the SYL project issue among Akalis so that it forces Devi Lal to postpone Punjab elections. But the poll cannot be put off unless the Janata Govt pushes through another constitutional amendment which requires Congress I support.
The Congress I in short is ready to support the govt provided the Janata Dal agrees to certain conditions, these will probably relate to the current enquiries against Gandhi.
Thus the drama is only to put off the elections to suit Gandhi. Sikhs however do not attach much importance to the move. But if all the so called accords are done away with Punjab stands to gain much.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 13, 1990
