SAD stand clear: Badal
By P.P.S. Gill
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 5 — The Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, expects the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre to adopt a "positive attitude" to the demand of its ally, the SAD, for exclusion of Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed Uttaranchal state.

In an exclusive interview on the eve of the crucial Working Committee meeting of the party, Mr Parkash Singh told TNS that it was only natural that the BJP should "respect" and respond positively to the "aspirations and wishes" of the people of Udham Singh Nagar, who were opposed to their inclusion in the new hill state. More than 95 per cent of the panchayats there, 275 out of 328, had passed resolutions against being pushed into Uttaranchal.

The stand of the SAD was clear. In a very cogent manner the August 6 decision of the party's Political Affairs Committee had been conveyed to both the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, that in case the BJP did not accede to its demand to exclude Udham Singh Nagar from Uttaranchal state, the SAD would have no option but to "withdraw support" to the 13-member coalition government in New Delhi.

Mr Parkash Singh, however, did not specify what was actually meant to be conveyed by the words "withdraw support". Would it mean just pulling out the two Ministers, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala and Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, from the Council of Ministers, or withdrawing support to the BJP even from outside? "We will all collectively take a decision on this", he added. Even at the Working Committee meeting tomorrow the members, 51 in all, would be apprised of the party's stand on Udham Singh Nagar.

Since the Akali leaders, the SAD president said, would be meeting the Prime Minister on October 7, no such decision would be taken which would create hurdles in the way of the talks between the Akalis and the Prime Minister. Mr Parkash Singh denied any difference of opinion with the SGPC president, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. "We have discussed and will meet Mr Vajpayee together on October 7. I have had a word with the Prime Minister".

The Chief Minister reiterated that "unconditional support" to the BJP meant that "petty issues" would not be allowed to come in the way of the alliance. But the Udham Singh Nagar was no small issue. "Friendship with the BJP is one thing, commitment to the people quite another." "How can we betray the trust of the people of Udham Singh Nagar or turn a deaf ear to their sentiments," he asked.

At the Working Committee meeting tomorrow, he said the main agenda was to "strengthen" the organisational wing and evolve a mechanism to ensure "major achievements" of the government went down well with the people through the party cadre. He listed some of the "exemplary" achievements pertaining to putting the state's economy on a fast track of development.

Conceding that the financial situation was tight, Mr Parkash Singh said a strategy had been evolved to curtail expenditure and spare money for development works. "The canvas for development works is large and money hard to get," he admitted.

Vajpayee talks to Tohra

NEW DELHI, Oct 5 (UNI) — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, got in touch with SGPC president Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra today in a bid to soften his stance on the contentious Udham Singh Nagar issue just before the crucial meeting of the Akali Dal’s working committee at Chandigarh tomorrow when the Dal would review its relations with the BJP and the Central Government.

Mr Vajpayee’s office was busy throughout the day trying to establish contact with Mr Tohra, who is camping at Patiala Circuit House, and he is understood to have talked to him late in the evening. The contact is considered politically significant as the SGPC leader is perceived to be taking a hardline compared to other Akali leaders on the Uttaranchal issue.

Akali Dal sources said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had a copy of the memorandum submitted by Mr Tohra to the Centre a few weeks ago. The memorandum demanded, among other things, exclusion of Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed hill state, granting of second language status to Punjabi in Delhi and setting up of a commission of inquiry into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots with a view to fixing responsibility on the agencies and persons involved.

The Akali Dal's working committee will also discuss the strategy for elections in Rajasthan and Delhi, including a continuance of the alliance with the BJP.

CHANDIGARH (PTI): Mr Tohra said it was possible that the working committee would not take any decision on continuance of support to the BJP-led government before the scheduled talks between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Delhi. "It is possible the working committee meeting will be adjourned to await the outcome of talks between Vajpayee and Badal," he told a private television network.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana said he had held talks with Mr Vajpayee and Akali Dal General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa today to sort out the dispute. and had offered a package during his meeting.