Opinion Forty years ago, November 10, 1985: When Rajiv Gandhi took on Jyoti Basu

Rajiv Gandhi vs Jyoti Basu

Sharp exchanges between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu marred the concluding session of the National Development Council. The differences between the two related not only to the acceptance of the resolution adopting the Draft Seventh Plan but also to the strategy and contents of the Plan document, over which the West Bengal government had serious reservations. Though all the other CMs, including N T Rama Rao of Andhra Pradesh and Ramakrishna Hegde of Karnataka, urged Basu to facilitate a unanimous approval of the Draft, the sharpness of the attack by the PM surprised everyone at the conference.

Zia on Siachen

Pakistan President Ziaul Haq claimed that PM Rajiv Gandhi had agreed to his suggestion for negotiations to sort out the Siachin glacier issue. Recalling their recent New York meeting, he told journalists in Lahore that he firmly believed that the issue could be settled through talks.

In Delhi, a shocking tale

An explosive situation developed near Palam when some policemen “in plain clothes” from the Delhi cantonment police station allegedly forced their entry into the house of an Army jawan and attempted to rape his wife. The alarm raised by the woman woke up her relatives as well as the villagers, involving even the assistant commissioner of police of the area, Lala Ram. The drama started a little before midnight and continued till the early hours of dawn.