NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh termed the Punjab Accord as in adequate and said that his government would not be averse to seeking a solution to the vexed problem outside its framework.

In what can be viewed as a significant departure from established policy, the Chief Minister also said there were deficiencies in the Accord which needed to be removed. ;

Beant Singh was addressing newspersons at the Press Club of India. He held a meeting with Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao.

When Beant Singh was asked if his remarks meant that the accord, signed by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sant on July 25,1985, was dead.

His dissatisfaction with the accord was, however, evident we want to go beyond the Punjab Accord. We have already rejected the allocation of water by the Eradi Tribunal.”

While the Chief Minister did not categorically admit that he wanted the accord reopened, his statements taken together would leave no other conclusion.

Singh’s rejection of the Punjab accord, even as he chose to adopt ambiguous language, was apparently meant to send signals to Punjab that he was going much beyond what the Akalis had obtained by way of the Accord when they had agreed to sign it.

The message he sent across was clear: that he was protecting the interests of Punjab in a more effective way than the Akalis had done. Observers saw in the Chief Minister’s remarks the hidden message to the State that he could not condemn the Accord outright only because Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister had been a signatory to it.

Beant Singh opened up the press meet with the remarks that the Congress Governments in

Punjab were always accused by their opponents that they could not safeguard the interests of the state in a forceful manner.

After our Government was installed we declared Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib and Takht Talwandi Sabo as holy places,” he said, in obvious rebuttal of Akali criticism of his Government as a handmaiden of the Center and inimical to the Panth.

He added that his Government had even made Fatehgarh, a place of historical importance for the Sikhs, a district: “It was a decision which was welcomed by all the residents there,” he claimed.

By taking such steps, a Punjab official present at the press conference explained, the CM only wanted to prove that the interests of Punjab were his foremost concern.

Asked if he felt the Center was delaying the package, he said “The Central Government is not delaying the package it is only a matter of time before they announce it.”

He admitted that the demands made by the militants on the river water issue and the Punjabi language at onetime were similar to the demands he had himself raised, “But we do not agree with the militants when they ask for Khalistan.”

The Punjab CM also denied that he had differences with the Prime Minister. “How can have differences with the PM? He is such a nice man.” He added that the PM was very keen to solve the Punjab problem and that he would also be able to do it.

According to Beant Singh, there were about 2,000 militants still operating in Punjab though their militants had some down, some continued to join the militant ranks, he said.

“But I am not satisfied yet,” he said.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 3, 1992