The front page of The Indian Express on October 26, 1978.

Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony announced his decision to resign in protest against the Congress Parliamentary Board’s on the Chikmagalur byelection. His ministerial colleagues and leaders of other parties were taken by surprise, but they could not persuade him to desist . Antony said the CPB, which had decided to indirectly support Mrs Indira Gandhi in the Chikmagalur byelection, had “ignored the feelings of Congressmen in Kerala”. Characterising the CPB decision as “painful and deplorable”, Antony said he could not understand how Congressmen could accept the indirect support for Mrs Gandhi who had split the party for her personal interests. Antony believed that no matter what the consequences, Congressmen should continue to resist the Congress (I) and its authoritarian tendencies.

Marking Deng

Vice-Chairman Deng Xiaoping, more than any other Chinese leader, holds the key to the outcome of Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s visit to Peking because he was involved in the discussions within the Chinese Communist Party before the clash with India and is perhaps the most powerful man in China. In 1962, Deng was the secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party and Marshal Lin Piao was the defence minister. It is now known that a plenum of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party discussed the border issue in September, before the war with India.

Ram On Neighbours

Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram declared that while India was keen to promote peace with its neighbours like China and Pakistan, it could ill afford to neglect its defence preparedness. Ram said that peace and security are two complementary fronts both of which deserve our constant attention. Therefore, “while continuing to pursue with vigour our quest for peace, we shall continue to emphasise defence preparedness,” he added.