Opinion Sempteber 9, 1981, Forty Years Ago: Privilege Motion
The speaker, Balram Jakhar, told the Lok Dal member that he would give his ruling on the notice after looking into the facts.
This is the front page of The Indian Express published on Sempteber 9, 1981. George Fernandes has given notice of breach of privilege against Arun Shourie of The Indian Express for calling Finance Minister R Venkataram, “a petty liar”. The speaker, Balram Jakhar, told the Lok Dal member that he would give his ruling on the notice after looking into the facts. Earlier, as the house assembled, Mandhu Dandavate of the Janata Party offered to lay on the table certain receipts accepting donations in the name of the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishthan. Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanded that the government place the original trust deed in the house. The Speaker rejected both the requests. Fernandes said that by calling Venkataraman a liar, Shourie had committed a breach of privilege. If the privilege motion against Venkataraman had failed, it must stand against Shourie. He said that he could not accept the Speaker’s position that he would take time to decide on the issue.
Griffin Affair
External Affairs Minister P V Narasimha Rao told the Lok Sabha that while the Griffin Affair had created a “temporary phase” of bitterness in Indo-US relations, he was not prepared to say that Washington’s refusal to accept a diplomat amounted to an unfriendly act. Rao also denied that India’s refusal to accept Griffin as political counsellor in the US embassy was a result of pressure from any quarter.
Solidarity’s Support
Poland’s Solidarity expressed support for a free trade union movement throughout the Soviet bloc and denounced what it called “the lies being disseminated against us”. The message was addressed to workers in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Soviet Union. “Our aim is to struggle for better living standards for all people,” it said.
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