Sonia to visit Golden Temple
Tribune News Service

KHADOOR SAHIB (Amritsar), Sept 10 — After paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and the Durgiana Mandir on September 27, Ms Sonia Gandhi, Congress president, will tour the state to rejuvenate the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee which suffered a "humiliating" defeat in the previous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Ms Gandhi will also pay homage to the Jallianwala Bagh martyrs and will suggest ways to renovate the national monument. Incidentally, she is the chairperson of the Jallianwala Bagh Trust.

Capt Amarinder Singh, president of the PPCC, said the visit would give a boost to the Congress, especially at a time when there was a likelihood of mid-term elections in the state.

Capt Amarinder Singh, who had come here to attend a political conference in connection with the historic Gurgaddi of Guru Angad Dev today, answering a question said Ms Gandhi was unlikely to apologise for the infamous "Operation Bluestar" as she had already expressed "regret" over it before the previous Lok Sabha elections. He said since she was not directly responsible for it, there was no point in seeking an apology now.

Ms Gandhi would also meet the families of farmers who had committed suicide.

Capt Amarinder Singh, meanwhile, asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to resign as he had "failed" on all fronts. He said in the event of Mr Badal's resignation, the Punjab Pradesh Congress was ready to form a government.

He alleged that the economy of the state was in a shambles, farmers were committing suicides and the law and order situation had deteriorated. In such a situation, Mr Badal had no right to run the government.

The PPCC chief, in a categorical statement, said Punjab did not have surplus water and hence it had exclusive rights to use the inter-state river waters as per riparian law. He said the Congress had already rejected the reports of the Eradi Tribunal and the Shah Commission on the reorganisation of boundaries.

He said the state would urge Ms Gandhi to take up the issue of the transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab and the fair adjudication of the river waters.

Capt Amarinder Singh alleged that the SGPC chief was vitiating the atmosphere in the state by issuing provocative statements.

He said the Badal government had no right to ban dharnas being staged by the Congress as these were in protest against inflation and hike in power tariff and bus fares.

He supported the statement of Bhai Ranjit Singh, Jathedar, Akal Takht, alleging, that the Badal government was not running on the pattern of the regime of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as claimed by the state government.

He said the Punjab Congress Committee would submit the names of SAD and BJP ministers involved in corruption cases to the Lok Pal.