Opinion November 18, 1984, Forty Years Ago: Opposition blame game in run-up to Lok Sabha elections

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 18, 1984.

November 19, 2024 01:36 AM IST First published on: Nov 18, 2024 at 02:43 AM IST

Opposition clash

With barely 10 days to go before the last date of nominations for the December 24 Lok Sabha elections, the opposition parties are nowhere in sight of their declared objective of seat adjustments. Leaders belonging to two of the bigger non-communist opposition groupings continued to reiterate their claim of striving hard for seat adjustments while blaming each other for obstruction.

UK Sikhs’ plea

A judge dismissed an appeal of a certain section of Sikhs against the police decision to ban their march to the United Nations headquarters in London to protest against what they called the Indian government’s treatment of minorities. The judge also refused to reverse the Environment Ministry’s decision to ban an assembly of Sikhs at Hyde Park to hold a prayer meeting for those killed in Delhi.

Mehrotra resigns

The government is believed to have accepted the resignation of the Indian High Commissioner in Britain, Prakash Mehrotra, who flew into Delhi soon after Indira Gandhi’s assassination leaving the sensitive London post unattended. Mehrotra, who himself announced at Allahabad that he has sent in his resignation, has not disclosed the reason. Apparently, he is lobbying for a Congress (I) to fight the election from Uttar Pradesh.

Fall in TV prices

The prices of television sets, including colour sets, and other electronic goods are expected to come down following the announcement of customs duty concessions worth about Rs 10 crore. The government has completely exempted from duty a number of raw materials like chemicals of special grade and high purity metals which currently attract customs duties ranging from 120 to 131 per cent.