Prime Minister Indira Gandhi left New Delhi for New York amid reports from Washington that the US was likely to allow foreign fuel for Tarapur. Senior officials in Washington said that the US, which was unable to supply nuclear fuel to Tarapur atomic station, was likely to allow India to obtain fuel from external sources.
Defying the party whip, 32 Congress (I) MLAs indulged in cross-voting in the biennial elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from the assembly constituency and thereby brought about a defeat of one of the nine party candidates. The cross-voting, described as the largest in the recent history of the state legislatures, was largely in favour of R S Gavai, the president of the RPI (G) and the retired chairman of the Legislative Council. Gavai was elected in the last round in the process of elimination.
More than 500 agitating students, including a large number of girls, gate-crashed into the Secretariat building in Panaji and “captured” the Goa Assembly hall, where the House was to meet at 2 pm. The students occupied the LT Governor’s chamber and the Assembly hall. The students, affiliated to the All-Goa Students Union, are demanding withdrawal of the fee hike announced by the Goa Board of Secondary Education.
Despite strong internal criticism, the national council of the Communist Party of India has endorsed “with overwhelming majority” its leaderships’ decisions to align with the BJP in the Haryana agitation against the Governor and in the presidential elections.
