November 28, 1977, Forty Years Ago: Haksar to Indira
Front page of The Indian Express on December 12, 1977 Front page of The Indian Express on December 12, 1977
P N Haksar has written to Mrs Gandhi to appear before the Shah Commission and own the excesses committed during the Emergency. In a letter, Haksar has asked her to express sorrow and say that many things which had now come to light were not within her knowledge but because she was the PM, she was responsible for them constitutionally, politically and morally. Haksar was not only Mrs Gandhi’s secretary when she was the PM but also her confidante. He left her before the Emergency but remained as the Planning Commission’s chairman till the Janata government assumed office.
CPI-ML formed
Two important groups of Naxalites — the unity committee and central committee – have merged to form the CPI-ML as the single largest party of Marxism Leninism in India. Satyanarain Singh and Santosh Rana of the central committee and Dhruba Chowdhury, Khokhon Mazumdar and Bhaskar Nandy of the unity committee announced the merger in Calcutta. Singh, who has been elected the general secretary of the new party, met the CPM leader E.M.S. Namboodiripad and discussed the possibility of an electoral understanding in Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra.
Desai on Constitution
Prime Minister Morarji Desai said safeguards would be built into the Constitution to prevent Parliament from changing its democratic character into a dictatorial one. He hoped these would make the judiciary’s task of interpreting the Constitution easier.
Bhutto’s charges
The deposed Pakistan Prime Minister, Zulfikar All Bhutto, already being tried for murder charges, is expected to face 18 additional charges of financial irregularities and misuse of office. Bhutto is charged with ordering the murder of a political opponent.
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