PUNJAB CABINET: Mourns sad demise of IK Gujral

Chandigarh, December 12, 2012: The Punjab Cabinet in its meeting held under the Chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today deeply mourned the sad demise of former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral and observed two minute silence in the memory of departed leader.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office said that the Punjab Cabinet unanimously passed a resolution expressing profound grief and sorrow over the passing away of Inder Kumar Gujral – a great leader adored by every Indian especially the people of Punjab.

Gujral as a diplomat, parliamentarian and the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Foreign Affairs was a perfect blend of rare qualities like simplicity, humility, probity in public life, which would ever act as a beacon for the countrymen.

After the partition, Gujral had faced numerous hardships but he never gave up his honest approach.  At a time when the entire world was in the grip of cold war and was on the brink of another disaster of world war, Gujral exhibited his rare skills as a seasoned politician and formulated a comprehensive foreign policy popularly known as ‘Gujral doctrine’ aimed at creating peace between two World Powers but also played a pivotal role in ushering in an era of global peace.   

The resolution also mentioned that Late Gujral had played an instrumental role in strengthening the communal harmony and brotherhood amongst the people.  He had worked relentlessly for the upliftment of down trodden section of the society. During the tragic era in Punjab he had always advocated a liberal policy to safeguard the interests of Punjab and Punjabis at the national level to heal the wounds of the Sikh community.  People of Punjab would never forget the daring and decisive role played by Gujral forwaving off the Special Term Loan of Rs.8,500 crore on the state that was incurred in fighting the nation's battle during the days of militancy.  

“Every Punjabi takes pride for the outstanding contributions rendered by this great son of the soil and today’s meeting pays rich tributes to the departed leader on behalf of all Punjabis”, reads the resolution.