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Opinion September 10, 1985, Forty Years Ago: Congress in Punjab

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on September 10, 1985.

September 10, 2025 07:23 AM IST First published on: Sep 10, 2025 at 07:23 AM IST

The Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, asserted that the Congress (I) was fighting the Punjab elections seriously, would come back to power and provide an effective government to the state. It had put up candidates stronger than those of other parties, he said. Talking to a group of editors, Gandhi said that the complaint that the party had put up weaker candidates was from a group of senior partymen but Congress would be stronger in the field without them.

Thai Turmoil

Thai troops crushed a coup attempt masterminded by a disgruntled former Army Colonel after a 10-hour confrontation in which authorities said four people were killed and 59 wounded. Among the dead were two Western journalists caught in a hail of gunfire in the centre of Bangkok from tanks manned by rebels. The dawn putsch, involving up to 500 rebels who commandeered 22 tanks, collapsed after the government issued a “surrender or die” ultimatum.

Boeing’s Offer

In a bid to stay in the race for the sale of new aircraft to the Indian Airlines, the Boeing company has come up with an alternative “time-bound” offer. The new offer, made just before the IA board in New Delhi to discuss and take a decision on the selection of new aircraft for the airline, is for the sale of the 140-seater Boeing 737-300 jetliner at a cost of about $25 million apiece.

Iran-Iraq War

Iraq said that its forces had crushed an Iranian offensive in the northern sector of the Gulf war zone, killing thousands of Iranian soldiers. A statement read over Baghdad Television by a military spokesman said: “We have crushed the Iranian offensive in the northern sector after a day-long battle.”