NEW DELHI: India— Opposition parties Wednesday ended a boycott of Parliament in protest of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s charge that they support Sikh extremists fighting for independence in northern Punjab state.
The decision to end the boycott came a day after Gandhi extended a conditional apology to the opposition parties but said he had not accused them of supporting Sikh separatists,
The 14 opposition parties said in a joint statement that they would return to Parliament Thursday because the current three-month session provides them with a platform from which to call attention to national problems.
“With a stance of self-righteousness, the Prime Minister hindered unsolicited and pointless advice to the opposition regarding (its) attitude towards the separatists’ style of functioning,” the statement said, adding Gandhi offered regret “without grace”.
The furore erupted Monday in the lower house during the debate cover the service extension of Mohan Khatre, head of the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s FBI. Gandhi accused opposition parties, with the exception of the Communist party of India (Marxist), of supporting Sikh separatists.
HELP PROMOTE WORLD SIKH NEWS
Article extracted from this publication >> March 3, 1989
