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Accord: A missed opportunity?
The Tribune initiative to revisit the Rajiv Longowal Accord on the eve of the 25th death anniversary of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal was timely. It is unfortunate that some of the Akali leaders refused to understand that the Sikh community had been caught in a quagmire in the wake of two shocks — the devastation of their holy shrine at Amritsar and the Delhi carnage. It needed courage and foresight to push the community out of this quagmire. Sant Longowal perceived that in general the Sikhs were still in an agonised state but needed respite. He met his colleagues in the party and found them in a fix. It was under such circumstances that he decided to respond to the overtures of Mr Arjun Singh, the then Governor of Punjab, to attend to the complex state of affairs. Sant Longowal had long meetings with eminent journalists, intellectuals, political analysts and members of Punjab groups based in Delhi before he made up his mind. It will be wrong to surmise that he concluded the accord in haste. What was more significant was that it symbolised a sincere attempt on the part of the late Rajiv Gandhi to assuage the injured feelings of the Sikh community. If all the dissenting forces from within the Akali Dal and the Congress have joined to ensure its failure because of their selfish interests, it was perhaps destined to be so. Was it a missed opportunity? Only time will tell. As for Sant Longowal, he was a soul wedded to spiritual pursuits who strayed into the domain of politics. The accord was signed on July 24, 1985. Mr Parkash Singh Badal and the late Gurcharan Singh Tohra endorsed the decision on August 20 after a meeting with Sant Longowal. All the three had smiles on their faces after the meeting. There was no occasion for the Sant to say ‘Mere nal dhokha ho gaya’ (I have been deceived). To the historians, one thing is clear, the Sant acted as a true leader. PRITHIPAL SINGH
KAPUR, former Pro Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
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Unruly behaviour
Parliamentarians need to learn lessons from other countries and strengthen our parliamentary institution by shunning walkouts, rowdyism, fist- thumping and defying the Chair’s ruling. Our power-hungry parliamentarians do not care about the taxpayers’ money. The remedy of this malady lies with the Speaker, who must come down heavily on unruly parliamentary behaviour. SUNDER SINGH
GIANI, Dialpura, Mohali
Lokpal Bill
The article “Lokpal Bill must be passed” (Aug 13) by Justice Rajindar Sachar (retd) is a wake-up call in the national interest. True, some tainted politicians, in the ruling and the Opposition, are dragging the process of passing the Bill on various extraneous considerations. In this situation the top leadership of political parties can play an important role in cleansing politics and public life. If the leadership is firm then it can direct, influence, prevail upon and persuade the party men to support the Bill. The long-awaited Bill, with the exclusion of none, will ensure accountability and transparency in politics. Eventually, consciously and unconsciously none will resort to corruption and criminalisation
in public life because no one is above the law. MOOL RAJ SHARMA, Gurgaon
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