This is an archive article published on February 15, 2022

Opinion February 15, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Charan and Jagjivan

Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram on Sunday commenced their political ride together with a joint appearance at a huge public meeting in Hissar.

Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, Lok Dal, India, India 1982, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bangladesh National Party, Bangladesh, Abdul Sattar, indian express

Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram on Sunday commenced their political ride together with a joint appearance at a huge public meeting in Hissar.

By: Editorial

February 15, 2022 03:50 AM IST First published on: Feb 15, 2022 at 03:50 AM IST

Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram on Sunday commenced their political ride together with a joint appearance at a huge public meeting in Hissar. The two leaders, whose differences contributed to the disintegration of the Janata Party, came in the same car from Delhi to Hissar where they were given a tumultuous welcome by workers of the Lok Dal and the Congress (J). But they said their appearance together should not be construed as an understanding for forthcoming assembly elections or a precursor to the merger of the Lok Dal and the Congress (J). The two leaders said the present circumstances had forced them to come together.

PM on Press

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has accused the press in India of functioning as the opposition. “It is not functioning as a free press,” the PM said in an interview to the Swedish television. Mrs Gandhi said: “The press is the opposition in India… what is called the national press. They lead the opposition. It is not just reporting. Their reporting is absolutely baseless.” Stating that it was biased, Mrs Gandhi said the press was also against her father Jawaharlal Nehru. “For a country which is trying to pick itself up from such a tremendous trauma of having undergone colonial rule, cynicism and pessimism is very close to crime,” she said .

Bangladesh Factions

The Bangladesh parliament begins its winter session under the. shadow of a deepening crisis in the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and a growing role of the National Security Council in state affairs. The crisis mainly centres on President Abdul Sattar’s formation of an 18-man council of ministers replacing the old one in a declared attempt to root out corruption in the ministry.