Opinion April 24, 1983, Forty Years Ago: Punjab government

Akali Dal president Harchand Singh Longowal ruled out the possibility of a Congress (I)-Akali coalition government in Punjab. In a statement issued from the party headquarters, Longowal said that especially after the atrocities committed against Sikhs by the present state government, the question of forming an alliance with the Congress (I) did not arise. He charged the central government with discriminating against Punjab and Sikhs.

On family planning

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Shankaranand expressed concern over the failure in achieving the family planning targets in some states. He said some states  failed to rise to the occasion. He was, however, satisfied with the overall performance. The ministry said the family planning programme could not achieve the desired effect if it was taken in isolation. It had to go side by side with the maternal and child health programme.

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J&K alliance

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah held “successful” discussions with AICC (I) general secretary Rajiv Gandhi over the possibility of adjustments between the two parties in the forthcoming assembly elections in the state. Both Mrs Gandhi and Abdullah had mentioned that an alliance without compromising the identity of the two parties could be reached.

Assam violence

Stray incidents of violence claiming one life and two cases of bomb explosions were reported from different parts of Assam during the last 24 hours. The person was killed by a group of miscreants who also set fire to his house at a village under Moran police station in Dibrugarh district. A bomb explosion partially damaged a private residence at Bardowa Barchala village in Nowgong district.