FORTY YEARS AGO

JP ON INDIRA DEFEAT

JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN SAID that in his view elections to state assemblies must be held as early as possible so that “we have new representatives who will be in tune with the new government at the Centre”. The recent Lok Sabha poll has shown that the people elected years back had lost their mandate now. “In fact, I should think that a new tradition should be established so that when once such a change takes place in the government at the Centre, the state governments also must resign and hold elections,” he told the media in Bombay. Asked whether he considered the Lok Sabha election defeat as Indira Gandhi’s political death, he responded with an emphatic “No”. He said: “She has quite political future yet. She has to unlearn a lot of things and undo a lot of things. However, the election defeat has dealt a great blow to her political career. She is young, no doubt.”

CWC MEMBERS QUIT

THE ENTIRE CONGRESS Working Committee, including its president, D.K. Barooah, resigned to enable restructuring of the party after the poll debacle. Y.B. Chavan, leader of the Opposition, said this was a “collective decision”. Two CWC members, Chandrajit Yadav and Vayalar Ravi, disassociated with the move.

JAGMOHAN’S PADMA

JAGMOHAN, WHO “HAS specialised in the problems of city planning and development” according to his Padma Bhushan citation, failed after all to turn up and collect his award at the investiture ceremony. Jagmohan’s award was, of course, pushed through by unconventional methods. All rules were by-passed for the Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority and his award was not even scrutinised by the secretaries’ committee which is meant to vet such awards. In the investiture booklet, he is cited as having “broken new ground in redeveloping the Jama Masjid-red Fort complex”.