This is an archive article published on February 14, 2022

Opinion February 14, 1982, Forty Years Ago: No Mid-term Polls

Mrs. Gandhi has ruled out the possibility of mid-term elections in any state. Elections will, however, be held in states where they are due, she told reporters in Bhopal.

Andhra Pradesh, Indira Gandhi, Jagan Nath Kaushal, All Assam Students Union, Court Fee Abolition, Mid-term Polls, Indian Express, Editorial, Opinion, Forty Years Ago

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was not being asked to step down nor were there plans for leadership in other states, she said. Radical improvement was called for in the judiciary and administration and the system of education to realise the goal of a socialist and egalitarian society.

By: Editorial

February 14, 2022 03:34 AM IST First published on: Feb 14, 2022 at 03:34 AM IST

Mrs Gandhi has ruled out the possibility of mid-term elections in any state. Elections will, however, be held in states where they are due, she told reporters in Bhopal. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was not being asked to step down nor were there plans for any leadership change in other states, she said. Radical improvement was called for in the judiciary and administration and the system of education to realise the goal of a socialist and egalitarian society. Whatever the form of government, there was a scope for better, she said when asked whether there were efforts to shift to the presidential system.

Court fee abolition

Union Law Minister Jagan Nath Kaushal has hinted at the possibility of court fees being abolished. Inaugurating a conference of the Uttar Pradesh Congress (I) Committee’s legal cell, said that a recommendation made to this effect by a panel constituted by his predecessor P Shiv Shankar had been sent to state governments for their approval. The minister said that it was his conviction that the “state had no right to tell a person who comes seeking justice to give money first”. A conference of law ministers will be called for the purpose, he said.

Foreigners’ issue

Leaders of the All Assam Students Union accused the Home Minister of “conveniently concealing” from the parliamentary consultative committee the policy decision made by the government on the issue of illegal migrants. Reacting sharply to the Home Minister’s statement that the government would honour the national commitment to refugees, the AASU general secretary Bhrigu Kumar Phukan that the External Affairs Minister had on April 4, 1966 categorically stated in the Lok Sabha that no person coming from East Pakistan after April 17, 1966 without valid travel documents would be given citizenship.