Front page of The Indian Express. (Archives)Goa was today brought under President’s rule and its assembly dissolved. Orders for taking over the administration of the Union Territory were signed by the president this afternoon. Fresh elections will be held there later this year. The administration of Goa has been taken over by the central government under the Union Territories Act. The Centre came to the conclusion that the local leaders were not likely to throw up a stable government after the fall of the Shashikala Kakodkar Government and the best way to provide Goa with a stable administration was to order fresh elections preceded by a spell of President’s rule. This is the second time Goa has come under President’s rule during the last 16 years.
Soviet Spy Swap
Five political and religious dissidents flew from being imprisoned by the Soviet Union to freedom in the United States yesterday in exchange for two Soviet spies, US President Jimmy Carter’s spokesman announced. One official said the arrangement, under which Alexander Ginzburg, one of the best-known Soviet activists, was released, was perhaps the largest ever US-Soviet prisoner exchange ever negotiated. It was the first such swap involving citizens of the Soviet Union held by the United States and Soviet citizens held by Russian authorities. The five dissidents arrived at John F. Kennedy airport in New York city, were met by the White House, State Department and Justice Department officials, and, were hustled to an undisclosed location.
Punjab Power Sharing
The Union government will examine the legal and technical aspects of the issues raised by the states of the northern zone, excepting Punjab, with regards to their claim on the additional power to be generated by Punjab as a sequel to the larger discharges of water received in some of its dams under the Indus water treaty with Pakistan. This was agreed to by the Union minister for home affaurs, H M Patel, at the Northern Zonal Council meeting in Jaipur today. Haryana has demanded participation and sharing of benefits in the Anandpur Sahib, Mukarian and Upper Bari Doab Canal hydroelectric projects. Punjab’s contention is that since it will produce power without affecting the water supply of other states, it is not liable to share the power with them.
