Indian Express front page, June 13, 1979The central disciplinary action committee of the Janata party ordered that the former health minister, Raj Narain, be removed from the membership of the national executive of the party for one year for breach of party discipline. The committee also debarred Narain from seeking re-entry to the executive for one year. While Narain’s removal from the national executive has been ordered for his public statements criticising the working of the government and his call to the people to “gherao” MPs of their areas, he has been warned for showing disregard to the party president, Chandra Shekhar.
Indo-Soviet Talks
The two-day Indo-Soviet talks concluded in Moscow with clear indications that Moscow wants India and the Soviet Union to have a common approach towards ensuring Afghanistan’s protection from the threat of incursions from Pakistan. At the banquet speech in honour of the Indian PM, Leonid Brezhnev made it clear that Moscow will not leave Afghanistan in the lurch. Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin, made it clear that the Soviet Union “will be protecting Afghanistan”.
No Escape
The Supreme Court today ordered that Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar alias Anandmurtiji, chief of the Ananda Marg, shall not leave the country on his return from his foreign tour this month, notwithstanding the issuance of a passport to him. Vacation judge R S Pathak passed the order on a special leave petition of the Union government against the order of the Patna High Court of May 10, directing the authorities to issue him a passport on certain conditions. Sarkar had left on May 6 on a tour of Switzerland, West Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Spain. On May 4, on an application by the Union government, the SC granted an interim stay of the order of the High Court which permitted Sarkar to leave the country.
