NEW DELHI (PTI): Punjab chief minister Beant Singh Feb.12 said Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao should visit the state only after transferring Chandigarh to the state.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, is a major bone of contention.
“It would be better if he visits Punjab after conceding at least one out of our three demands, including transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab,” Beant Singh said at a press conference here.
Other two demands, he said, were regarding introduction of Punjabi in the northern states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and water dispute.
“This is what you can call Punjab package,” he said, adding that had the package come much earlier, things would have been different.
Acceptance of at least one demand would help a lot in changing the attitude of the people whose aspirations had again been arisen with the return of peace in the state, Beant Singh said. Ruling out any possibility of holding talks with any faction of ‘Akali Dal, the chief minister said there was no agenda and no proposal to talk to them. “Neither the center nor the state is willing to talk to them.”
Article extracted from this publication >> February 19, 1993
