Gujral had a strong Punjab connection

Chandigarh, Nov 30 (IANS) Having represented Punjab in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral had a strong bond with Punjab.

Born in Jhelum town, now in Pakistan, Gujral, who died Friday, would be remembered by Punjab as the prime minister who announced that the centre would share the burden of the debt of thousands of crores of rupees that Punjab had accumulated while fighting terrorism in the 1980s and 90s.

Gujral’s son Naresh Gujral is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab and a senior leader of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in the state.

Gujral represented Punjab for two terms in the Rajya Sabha (1964-1970 and 1970-1976). At that time, he was part of the Congress party. He contested and won the election from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat in 1989.

He was elected from the same Lok Sabha seat in 1998.

In Punjab’s Kapurthala town, 180 km from here, the Pushpa Gujral Science City is named after his mother.

IANS 2012-11-30 18:32:07