Opinion May 4, Forty Years Ago
Jayaprakash Narayan raised a controversy that the armed forces should also defend its democratic Constitution.
JP on the Army
Jayaprakash Narayan raised a controversy when he said at a meeting in Hyderabad that the armed forces should defend not only the country’s territorial integrity, but also its democratic Constitution against external aggression. What he said was within the ambit of the Constitution, he clarified. Regarding the probe into a foreign donation received by a Sarvodaya body, JP said voluntary agencies outside India used to send funds to similar outfits and the government knew about it. The funds were not from any government and the controversy was only meant to malign the Sarvodaya movement, he added.
Jana Sangh on Janata
A working committee of the Jana Sangh deferred a decision on joining the proposed federal party comprising the non-CPI opposition till the Gujarat assembly polls were over. Jana Sangh chief L.K. Advani told the media the decision to form a federal party was a step in the right direction. The Jana Sangh would later merge with the Janata Party and become part of the Morarji Desai government.
Kabutar Jaa
A report quoting intelligence sources said Pakistan was sending pigeons to spy on Indian defence installations. Pigeons carrying mechanical devices under their feathers had been caught. These devices could detect defence installations within a radius of 30 km and relay information to their masters in Pakistan. The captured birds were being kept at the interrogation centre in Delhi, the report said.
Chill with the US
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines questioned the value of an alliance with its long-term ally and colonial master, the US, in a statement marking 40 years of the Philippines air force. Manila also threatened to arrest officials of the deposed South Vietnamese government travelling on US warships if they set foot in the Philippines.
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