CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s Akali Dal (Mann) president Simranjit Singh Mann Wednesday changed his position on talks to resolve the Punjab problem ruling out any discussions with the Indian federal government on the issue.
Talking to newsmen Mann said since Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar was following the anti-Sikh policies of the Congress (I) and its leader Rajiv Gandhi there is no point in having talks with him in the present situation.
He demanded the army be withdrawn from Punjab by Thursday and the Governor Gen O.P.Malhotra recalled. Mann said the army was present in the state to silence the voice and democratic aspirations of the Sikhs He said false encounters had increased and hundreds of Sikh youth had been detained on the flimsiest grounds
He warned that if the center did not withdraw the army and recall Gen. Malhotra a meeting of senior Akali functionaries called by him on 1 March will give the ultimate programme so that the Sikh nation must either face death or live in liberty.
Asked whether by liberty he meant Khalistan the Akali Dal president quipped: May be.
In a statement on February 19 the organisations including the Babbar Khalsa international and for factions of the Khalistan Commando Force Khalistan liberation force Bhindranwale Tigers Force and Sikh Student Federation accused Mann and other like-minded people of joining hands to grab power sidelining militants.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 8, 1991
