CHANDIGARH: Mr Simranjit Singh Mann Akali Dal (Mann) president has said that the Prime Minister Mr Chandra Shekhar must consolidate his position visa-vis the BJP Cong-I and CPM whom he described as Hindu fundamentalist parties.

Once this was achieved the Prime Minister should then issue a firm statement and follow it up with an invitation to the militants belonging to all the organisations to set the ball rolling once again Mr Mann told PTI in an interview here on Jan 5.

The Prime Minister must be given time to consolidate his position so that he does not have to change his stance every now and then. We must be cautious and should not hasten the events as we do not want to come across another Rajiv Longowal type accord Mr Mann said.

Mr Mann reiterated his offer of having round table talks with the leaders of national political parties to remove their apprehensions about his case.

Asked about the possibility of his having another meeting with the Prime Minister apart of the consolidation process Mr Mann said it would result in unnecessary speculation. I have given out entire case in black and white in the form of the memorandum to the Prime Minister as per the mandate. I have no authority to water down this mandate or exceed the brief Mr Mann said.

Asked if he would not like to clinch the issue in the shortest possible time in view of the hazard involved in prolonging the dialogue on such a delicate matter Mr Mann said that Rome was not built in a day and haste makes waste. It’s a very sensitive and important issue and | am not ina hurry. The ball is in the court of the Centre. I have presented my case which is based on facts logic constitution history and international laws. It’s now for the Prime Minister to manage his side of the fence and gain strength to speak to me again he said.

The Akali Dal president felt that it was a great opportunity to solve the complex problem and it should not be missed. The beginning has been made and this is something great. At least we are talking now have brought all the Sikh factions on one platform. The militants have also responded favorably and the government must associate them in this process. We must not miss this chance Mr Mann said.

Asked for his comments on the reactions Of the Cong-I the BJP and CPM to his memorandum particularly the demand for self-determination for the Sikhs Mr. Mann said that he understood very well the Hindu psyche and therefore was not surprised at the notions of these parties Whenever any attempt has been made to reason the case of the Sikhs the Hindu reaction has been sharp. It has been the tradition of the Brahamanical society not gives any credibility to anybody except themselves.

 Mr Mann said that he would request Mr Rajiv Gandhi Mr L.K. Advani and Mr E.M.S. Nambooiripad that if they wanted to demolish his (Mr Mann’s) case then they should do it logically through argument and reason and not try to force him into submission. This will not work with the Sikhs. We can endure but never accept defeat The Mughals and Afghans and the British learnt this and the Indian state should learn s lessons of the past 43 years.

Referring to Mr Advani’s assertion the talk of self-determination to the Indian context was dangers and went against the very basis yet the Indian Constitution Mr Mann said that he had met the BJP president in January last year at that time he was very receive to the theories of Sikh nation and balance of power. Besides Article 637 of the United Nations charter relating to self-determination was ratified under Article 51 of the Indian Constitution and therefore it was obligatory for the Indian state to honour it.

Mr Mann said that there was nothing strange about the demand for self-determination and cited the example of the USSR where many unions were making similar demand.

Mr Mann said that mental block of Hindu fundamentalism was coming in the way of Mr Chandra Shekhar in dealing with the Sikh problem and urged him not to buckle under such pressures Mr Mann said that it was unfortunate that whenever something positive about Sikhs came up all the Hindu fundamentalist parties act in unison against it and similarly if there was something negative like imposition and extension of Presidents rule in Punjab they vote for it in the Parliament en-bloc. The Sikhs feel hurt and alienated by such actions he said.

Mr Mann said that if India was to be kept united these parties (Cong-I BJP and CPM) should become secular and flexible and adhere to the preamble of the Constitution.

About the minority community in Punjab the Hindus Mr Mann said that his party was willing to give them full rights and never treat | them as the Sikhs have been treated by the Centre and the Hindu fundamentalists We respect Hindus he said.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 11, 1991