ssm@cmu-ri-leg.ARPA (Sesh Murthy) (03/28/85)
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is scheduled to visit the army-occupied state of
Punjab on Saturday for the first time since succeeding his assassinated
mother, Indira Gandhi.
Gandhi is scheduled to fly to the Sikh-majority state's Ferozepur
district to lay the foundation stone of a memorial for three men
hanged by the British for throwing a bomb inside New Delhi's
parliament building to protest colonial rule.
However, Gandhi may use the occasion to announce new steps aimed at
restoring normality in Punjab and coming to terms with militant Sikhs
demanding greater self-government.
''His visit to the disturbed state at this juncture augurs well,''
Punjab's newly appointed governor, Arjun Singh, said Wednesday. ''We
look forward to the prime minister's visit. The people of Punjab will
give Mr. Gandhi a warm reception.''
Singh said ''all necessary security measures'' would be taken to
protect Gandhi from terrorist attacks.
Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated Oct. 31 by two of her Sikh security
guards, apparently in revenge for the army assault last June on
extremists at Amritsar's Golden Temple, the Sikhs' holiest shrine.
Punjab has been under army control since June, but The Times of
India newspaper reported Thursday that the government has begun
withdrawing troops from three districts and replacing them with
paramilitary forces.
The government last week released Harchand Singh Longowal, head of
the Sikhs' Akali Dal party, and seven other Sikh leaders in a major
move to break the impasse in Punjab. But Longowal has shown no sign
of conciliation.
The Akali Dal has threatened to begin new agitation unless the
government accepts its demands by April 13. These demands include a
judicial inquiry into the anti-Sikh riots that followed Mrs. Gandhi's
slaying, lifting of the ban on a militant Sikh student organization,
withdrawal of the army from Punjab, and release of Sikhs in custody.
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