KAPURTHALA: Sukhjinder Singh president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sukhjinder) has said that propaganda spread by the Punjab government that the movement of tendering resignations by panches and sarpanches in the Doaba region is weak false and untenable.

Talking to newsmen here Sukhjinder Singh said that he noticed an overwhelming enthusiasm among panches and sarpanches over the issue of tendering resignations from their posts. He claimed that the panches and Sarpanches of the state would tender their resignations within a stipulated period from June 1330.

He disclosed that a meeting of panches and sarpanches of Kapurthala Pahagwara and Sultanpur Lodhi sub divisions of the district has been convened at the state Gurdwara on June 22 On that day the panches and sarpanches would march in procession to the office of the deputy commissioner and tender their resignation on block.

He alleged that the government was making all efforts to thwart the submission of resignations by using the police and government machinery. He ridiculed the stand of Beant Singh over the issue.

He asked as to what type of democracy we had been experiencing in which an elected representative had no liberty to resign.

He said that the state assembly was the creation of the Punjab police and the fate of Beant Singhs government depends upon the director general of Punjab police. The government had no control over police and Para-military forces which had Iet loose a reign of terror.

He accused the government of cheating the people by saying that a package for the state is in the offing whereas his letter to the Center to stall it had shown his attitude towards a solution to the Punjab problem.

He regretted that the government had not punished the culprits of the November 1984 riots.

He demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the Behla incident in Amritsar district in which seven civilians had allegedly been killed by the police.

Sukhjinder Singh asked the six militants organization to stop the probe against Gurcharan Singh Tohra as the organization had no access to the record of the government.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 26, 1992