Opinion June 18, Forty Years Ago: Party housekeeping

A look at the front page of The Indian Express, published on June 18, Forty Years Ago.

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By: Express News Service

June 18, 2015 12:36 AM IST First published on: Jun 18, 2015 at 12:36 AM IST

A look at the front page of The Indian Express, published on June 18, Forty Years Ago.

The Congress parliamentary party meeting dominated headlines. A report said a resolution endorsing Indira Gandhi’s leadership would be passed at the meet. The party leadership had taken steps to ensure that the meeting went smoothly. Punjab CM Zail Singh and Haryana CM Bansi Lal were called to Delhi to talk to potential dissenters. The focus was on the MPs Chandrashekhar, Krishna Kanth, Mohan Dharia and Laxmikanthamma. But they said there was no question of them not having faith in Gandhi’s leadership.

New Gujarat CM
Janata Front leader Babubhai Patel was to be sworn in as Gujarat CM. Governor K.K. Viswanathan summoned Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksha leader Vallabhbhai Patel earlier and asked him to clarify if his party’s support to the Janata was conditional.

Bonded labour
A “Harijan” youth, whose family served a zamindar for three generations in lieu of a loan of Rs 93, complained to the district magistrate of having been illegally confined along with his wife and mother. The zamindar locked him up after he refused to pay Rs 1,000, which was demanded for a full and final settlement of the loan. His wife and mother were still in the zamindar’s custody, according to the report.

Communists return
For the first time since 1947, the Italian Communist Party appeared poised to play a role in national government after winning 33.4 per cent of the votes polled in the nationwide local elections. The Vatican-backed Christian Democrats, Italy’s dominant political party since World War II, polled 35.3 per cent of the votes, less than its 1970 tally. The communist party chief, Enrico Berlinguer, said the results revealed that Italians knew his party was “the real bastion of freedom”. The communist party is indispensable for the salvation and rebirth of the nation, he added.