INDIA: OPPOSITION LEADER RAM CAMPAIGNS WITH CALL TO DEFEAT AUTHORITARIAN FORCES IN COUNTRY

Record ID: 347270

  • Title: INDIA: OPPOSITION LEADER RAM CAMPAIGNS WITH CALL TO DEFEAT AUTHORITARIAN FORCES IN COUNTRY
  • Date: 25th September 1979
  • Summary: 1. GV & TV Large crowd surrounded Janata Party leader Jagjivan Ram as he arrives for election rally at Ludhiana (2 SHOTS) 2. GV & CU Ram waving to chanting crowd from speaker's rostrum (2 SHOTS) 0.32 3. CU Ram addressing crowd in Hindi 0.59 4. TV Crowd chant pro-Ram slogans in response 1.03 5. SV & CU Crowd surround Ram's car as he arriv
  • Embargoed: 10th October 1979 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VARIOUS TOWNS IN PUNJAB, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Reuters ID: LVA3BD7B555RYZ2AFEURUHUKP8U3
  • Story Text: Indian opposition leader Jagjivan Ram said this week (24 September) that former Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi was fighting her last battle and he hoped she would lose it. Mr. Ram and Mrs. Gandhi, allies until the 1977 election which voted her out of office, are both campaigning in northern India for the forthcoming national election. It will be a three-cornered fight with caretaker Premier Charan Singh.

    SYNOPSIS: India is gearing itself for national elections to try to solve the country political crisis ??? somebody a workable majority. Although no polling date has been announced. party ??? are out and about drawing huge crowds.

    Jagjivan Ram is the leader of the Janata party. He began his campaign in the state of Punjab. The crowd in Ludhiana was large but not as large as in his 1977 campaign.

    Mr. Ram had hard words for his former ally Mrs. Gandhi, and asked the people to defeat the authoritarian forces and defectors by electing his Janata party.

    As for the caretaker government of Mr. Charan Singh, Mr. Ram said there was no government at present, since it was doing nothing but creating economic and political problems.

    Mr. Ram spoke again at the town of Hoshiarpur. He is the leader of the country's one hundred million Harijans (untouchables). He was firmly on the side of Mrs. Gandhi until 1977 when he parted company claiming that she wanted to establish a dynastic rule.

    Mr. Ram hotly denied reports that he had made a secret alliance with Mrs. Gandhi's Contress (1) Party. He said some reporters were trying to mislead the public for their own ends.

    The chief election commissioner has said that the polling will be completed by the first week in January, so December seems a likely date for the elections.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register