40 years ago September 22, 1986: Barnala hits out at Badal group

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on September 22, 1986.

2 min readSep 22, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Sep 22, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

The Punjab Chief Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala, ruled out any unity talks with the Akali Dal (Badal group) in future. “There is no question of unity with Badal and his friends who have been eulogising the killers of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal,” he said in an informal chat with newsmen in New Delhi. Barnala recalled that Badal and others participated in a congregation organised by the All India Sikh Students Federation in Amritsar, where the killers of Sant Longowal were honoured and a gate erected in
their memory.

CPM, Advani decry PM remarks

The BJP president, L K Advani and the CPI(M) politburo members strongly criticised Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s recent remark that the Gorkha National Front Movement in Darjeeling was not “anti-national” and said that it would harm the causes of the Indian people’s fight against divisive forces to safeguard national unity and integrity.

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