Forty Years Ago, March 3, 1981: Govt on corruption

The Centre is inclined to pursue the prima facie cases as established in the Justice Vaidialingam report, against Kantilal Desai son of former prime minister Morarji Desai and Gayatri Devi, Charan Singh’s wife. When the report was received in January 1980, soon after Mrs Gandhi came to office, the thinking was to ignore the findings. The argument was that it would emphasise the point that her government was not interested in commissions or their conclusions. There was also an eye on the future so as to establish a precedent to not look into the affairs of the previous government. For certain reasons, these considerations have been jettisoned.

Rift in Lok Dal

The Lok Dal is heading for a crisis with the differences between Charan Singh and Devi Lal having assumed serious proportions. The two leaders have been fighting for the last several months for the leadership of the party but their differences on the composition of the executive committee of the Haryana Lok Dal appear to be pushing them towards a showdown.

Anti-Zia strikes

Strikes by thousands of lawyers against President Zia’s martial rule and teachers and doctors seeking pay raises gripped most of Pakistan’s legal and medical institutions. These protests coincided with the formation of a newly-formed opposition front, Movement for the Restoration of Democracy.

Asiad official jaunts

Yet another foreign jaunt is in the offing for officials connected with the Asian Games. Months after the construction of the controversial indoor stadium near the Rajghat complex, all the engineers associated with the project will be leaving for a 20-day trip to London, Munich, Berlin and Moscow.