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Tuesday, October 6, 1998 |
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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 Dals working committee at Chandigarh tomorrow when the Dal would review its relations with the BJP and the Central Government. Mr Vajpayees 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 Ministers 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. |
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