MARCH 22, 1984, FORTY YEARS AGO

PUNJAB-CENTRE TALKS

PUNJAB GOVERNOR B D Pande advised the Centre not to take any step that might provoke the Akali leadership to escalate the confrontation. However, Pande has expressed confidence that the state administration will be abletocontrolthesituationandcheckextremist activities. He was called by the Centre for consultation and to assess his reaction to the ban on the All India Sikh Students Federation.

VIPS’ MURDER PLOT

THE MURDEROUS ATTACK on the Haryana Deputy Speaker, Ved Pal, on the night of March 9 followed a “conspiracy” to liquidate some VIPS of the state as “terrorists’ revenge”. The conspiracy was cracked after extensive investigation which led to the detention of about 80 persons. According to the police theory, 15 persons were directly involved in the conspiracy, 10 of whom have been arrested.

RAO DISMISSES CLAIMS

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER P V Narasimha Raocategoricallyrejectedinsinuationsuggesting India’s hand in the abortive attempt to dislodge President Zia-ul-haq of Pakistan and termed reports to this effect in the Western media as “absolutely baseless and highly reprehensible”. In a strong rebuttal of the charge that India was involved in the attempted coup, Rao described the reports as “flights of fancy”.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

IT WAS A sentimental journey down memory lane for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she, along with her family, attended the Navroz celebrations of the Parsis, organised by the Capital’s 150-year-old Parsi Anjuman. Speaking at a function to celebrate the arrival of the Parsi New Year and spring, she recalled an intimate chapter of her life — how she met and married Feroze Gandhi. Mrs Gandhi said her first meeting with Feroze was “romantic”.