NEW DELHE: The center is considering annulling the present poll Process in Punjab and issuing a new notification for holding fresh elections in the border state, union home (interior) minister, S .B Chavan said Monday.
“It is not a difficult task to cancel the election process in Punjab but it will create precedence, Chavan said while talking to reporters.
In order to cancel the elections, scheduled to be held now on Sept 25, Chavan said the representation of people act would a have to be amended in the first session of the tenth Lok Sabha to begin later this month.
He said the opinion of the law ministry had been sought on the legal implication in case the government decided to cancel the Punjab elections.
He said with the polls in the border state being postponed by three months, the candidates had been exposed to the risk of been killed by militants for a longer period of time.
Even the additional 25000 men of Para-military forces who had been posted in the state for election duty would be overstretched if kept there for three months, he said, The Para-military personnel had been sent to Punjab after they completed election duty in various states.
Asked if the government was contemplating appointing a new Punjab governor as gen (retd) OP Malhotra had submitted his resignation, Chavan said a new governor would be appointed soon. But he declined to give the names of the people who were being considered for the post.
He said Gen Malhotra had done “Laudable” work as Punjab governor, He resigned the post following a communication gap between him and the chief election commissioner, T N Seshan on postponement of polls in the state the minister said.
Chavan denied that the ruling Congress-I had a hand in the postponement of Punjab elections and said the decision was taken by the chief election commissioner. “When Punjab polls were deferred, the Congress-I had not formed the government,” he said.
To a question if the government was willing to talk to the militants, Chavan said they would like to have a dialogue with people who would give up violence and swear by the constitution.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 5, 1991
