Opinion July 9, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Opposition Walkout

The installation of the Bhajan Lal government by the Haryana governor and the alleged misuse of government machinery to bolster the Congress-I candidate Zail Singh’s campaign rocked both Houses of Parliament. The half-hour furore in the Lok Sabha ended with the opposition parties, barring the DMK and Muslim League, staging a walkout. Their grouse was that the Speaker’s refusal to take up their adjournment motion.

USSR Warns US

The Soviet Union has warned the United States not to land troops in Lebanon. President Leonid Brezhnev, in a message to Ronald Reagan has said that if American troops went into Beirut, the Soviet Union would “build its policy on that fact”. Meanwhile, five American ships of the Sixth Fleet, carrying 1,800 marines have arrived in the Lebanese waters, to be on hand in the event of the evacuation of Palestinian fighters from beseiged West Beirut. While artillery exchanges in Beirut continue, some hopes have been raised of progress in the negotiations on a nine-point plan put forward by the American presidential envoy, Philip Habib. Israel announced that it accepts seven of the nine points.

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Suspension Revoked

The four-day tussle between the government and the Opposition over the Monghyr killings ended with the Bihar Assembly adopting a motion revoking the suspension of 98 opposition MLAs with immediate effect. As in the case of suspension, the resolution was moved by the chief minister and adopted by voice vote in the afternoon. The members will be attending the House three days prior to the original date of the suspension lifting. The withdrawal of the suspension came only after the opposition members had forced their entry into the House.