This is an archive article published on July 26, 2019

Opinion Forty Years Ago, July 26, 1979: Test for Desai

The Indian Express' front page on July 26, 1979

The Indian Express'front page on July 26, 1979

By: Editorial

July 26, 2019 12:32 AM IST First published on: Jul 26, 2019 at 12:32 AM IST

The Indian Express’ front page on July 26, 1979

At 3:50 pm, from his office in south block, Morarji Desai, makes phone calls to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Minutes are ticking by and the list of MPs supporting his candidature for premiership is not yet ready. The deadline for the submission of the list, set by the President, is 4 pm. Ravindra Varma, Murli Manohar Joshi and Digvijai Narain Singh, among others, flit in and out of the Prime Minister’s office, like characters in the old bioscope being run at quick speed. Meanwhile, the president considers it prudent that a conversation with the PM at this juncture should not be conducted on the open line, so an effort is made to get Sanjiva Reddy on RAX (Restricted Automatic Exchange), which would obviate eavesdropping. But, as luck would have it, RAX at the president’s end is out of order. Finally by about 4.15 pm, a list of 278 is ready. “Of this, 254 are our hard core supporters and that figure tips the scales in our favour” a party boss says with some relief

More Pak Hangings

Four men convicted with Bhutto in a political murder case were executed in West Punjab. They are: Mian Muhammad Abbas, Soofi Gulam Mustaffa, Arshad Iqbal and Rana Iftikhar Ahmed. Mustaffa and Ahmed were hanged in Faizalabad district jail and the other two in Kotlakhpat in Rawalpindi. The four belonged to the former Federal Security Force (FSC), created by Bhutto for allegedly thrashing political opponents. The executions followed the rejection by President Zia-ul-Haq of their mercy petition.

Skyjacker Caught

The skyjacking of the Bangladesh Biman aircraft from Jessore to Dum Dum airport in the morning ended with the skyjacker being nabbed by the police. A dark-compiexioned young man of medium build and average height, the skyjacker was identified by an intelligence man as he walked to the lounge from the passenger coach. Immediately, senior police officials grabbed him by the collar of his bushshirt on the stairs of the lounge. They searched his person for the pistol and the knife which he was brandishing the whole day, but could find neither.

# Forty Years Ago