Chavan added that the Congress would not do anything that would encourage disunity.(Express Archive)
Y.B. Chavan, who successfully resisted the attempts made by Mrs Gandhi’s group to control the affairs of the Congress, ruled out her expulsion from the party. Chavan, who was addressing the media in New Delhi, was asked to comment on Jayaprakash Narayan’s statement suggesting that Congressmen expel Mrs Gandhi from the party if they wished to revive it. Chavan, the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), said he had great respect for JP and would not comment on the statement. But Chavan added that the Congress would not do anything that would encourage disunity. “There is no question of expelling this individual or that individual. Any move to divide the Congress Party will not be encouraged by us,” he said. He added that there was no extra-constitutional authority nor was there any interference in the affairs of the CPP.
Tibet And China
There was speculation that Felex Green, a filmmaker who had spent five weeks in Tibet, was acting as a mediator between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. Green reportedly had a series of meetings with the Dalai Lama in Dharmashala. He refused to reveal what had transpired between him and the Dalai Lama but The Guardian quoted him as saying that “it had been agreed with the Dalai Lama’s office that the meeting as well as the substance of the talks should be kept secret”. Green told The Guardian, “the issues are very complex. I would rather not voice an opinion.” The filmmaker was in Tibet as a guest of the Chinese government.
PM On Nuke Power
The Prime Minister said in the Rajya Sabha that nobody could stop India from using nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes. A Congress member, Leela Damodara Menon, said she wondered why the prime minister had declared that India should not use nuclear explosion for peaceful purposes. “When did I say that,” Morarji Desai asked.
