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Akalis repeat threat to pull out of coalition

The Shiromani Akali Dal today said the Bharatiya Janata Party has to exclude Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed hill state of Uttaranchal if it wanted to retain the former in the ruling coalition.

Party general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra, MP, who is the party's whip in the Lok Sabha, told the media that there was no question of softening the party stand on the issue. The SAD's political affairs committee had already resolved at its meeting at Chandigarh on August 6 that the Akalis would withdraw support to the BJP-led government at the Centre if the latter insisted on pushing through the Uttaranchal bill in Parliament.

He refuted the impression that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, during his meetings with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani yesterday, had chosen to obviate the Udham Singh Nagar issue, and added that the party was firm on the August 6 PAC resolution.

Chandumajra also denied differences between Badal and Akali hardliner G S Tohra over the issue and said both the leaders would fight it out unitedly.

The Akali general secretary, on the other hand, urged the A B Vajpayee government to solve the long-pending demands of Punjab which include transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab and handing over the control of river headworks to the state.

Rejecting the Eradi Tribunal award on distribution of river waters, Chandumajra said Punjab had no surplus water to give away to other states.

Besides this, the central government should implement national agenda mandating for review of the Constitution and reframing of Centre-state relations to give more powers to the state.

UNI

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