Sant Prefers Mrs. Gandhi To Desai

LUDHIANA, March 4 (PTI)

Sant Fateh Singh, the Akali leader, told newsmen at Khanna, 26 miles from here, today that his preference for the election of Prime Minister was definitely for Mrs. Indira Gandhi over Mr. Morarji Desai.

Asked if he would meet her in connection with the Chandigarh and other disputes, he said not at present but later on he might meet her. He said for the present he would not press the demand for inclusion of Chandigarh into Punjabi Suba.

Part IV Election series :  Punjab Assembly Elections — 1967

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• Polling in punjab to be over by 5 p.m. on February 19
• Front ministry won't last long, says Zail Singh
• Congress hopeful of forming government
• Gurmukh Singh Musafir Defeated
• Sant Prefers Mrs. Gandhi To Desai
• Electioneering Comes To End
• Punjab and Haryana Go To Polls
• 13 Arrested For Personation In Chandigarh
• A New Chapter
• Congress Setback In Punjab
• Final party position in Punjab Assembly
• Gurnam Singh invited to form ministry

Sant Fateh Singh said the non-Congress Ministry would follow the Centre’s policy on language. Hindi would replace English while Punjabi would be regional language, he added. He asserted that their all-out efforts would be to strengthen the communal unity.

The newsmen asked if he had retired from politics, he said he certainly had retired but the Akali leaders persuaded him to come here to give them guidance. From here he will go to Chandigarh.

He said if they were not able to form the Ministry they would consider about it later.

He said they would not make any commitments with the Independent members about giving of offices to them.

About Master Tara Singh’s present action the Sant said that it was better that he had resorted to meditation and he should have done so long ago. He alleged that Master Tara Singh had very much damaged the Panth.

Sant Fateh Singh declared “with all force at my command” that they would oppose tooth and nail the Master’s demand for a Sikh State whether they formed the Ministry or not. If they were able to form the Ministry they would fight against him at official level. He said the Sikhs were spread all over the country and India belonged to them like all other Indians.