Key accord inked to bring peace and stability to Punjab

HT's report on then PM Rajiv Gandhi and Akali Dal chief Sant Harchand Singh Longowal inking a key pact to quell the crisis in the border state

- HT Correspondent

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Akali Dal president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal on Thursday finalised a comprehensive accord on a slew of issues concerning Punjab, marking a welcome end to the prolonged crisis in the border state that has bedevilled the nation.

The II-point Memorandum of Settlement signed at 5.30pm in Parliament House provides for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, two high-power commissions to decide on territorial disputes between Punjab and Haryana, a tribunal on the Ravi-Beas water systems, reference of the controversial Anandpur Sahib resolution to the Sarkaria Commission, widening of the scope of the inquiry into the November 1984 riots, rehabilitation of those discharged from the Army, and compensation to the families of all the innocent people killed in agitation and riots since August 1982.

The memorandum was tabled in the Lok Sabha within 20 minutes of its signing by a beaming Prime Minister, who expressed the hope that this “will bring to an end a very difficult period through which the nation has passed”. The five-page memorandum, signed by the two leaders, itself ends thus: “This settlement brings to an end a period of confrontation and ushers in an era of amity, goodwill and cooperation, which will promote and strengthen the unity and integrity of India.”