Vajpayee Elected to Rajya Sabha as Centre-Punjab Tensions Rise, Mizo Talks Near, Army to Leave Red Fort
Forty years ago, on June 22, 1986, BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee and eight Congress(I) candidates were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended. This left 58 candidates in the fray for the June 28 elections for the remaining 37 seats across six states. Notably, the Congress(I) secured all three seats from Odisha (then Orissa) after the opposition did not field candidates.
In Punjab, a standoff emerged between the Centre and the state government over the terms of reference given to Justice D A Desai, tasked with identifying 70,000 acres of land to be transferred to Haryana as compensation for Chandigarh. The Punjab Cabinet rejected the terms, but Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in a letter to Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala, asserted that the terms had been amended as per Barnala's own approval during consultations.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the central government and the Mizo National Front (MNF) to end the insurgency in Mizoram reached a final stage. Following a meeting between Union Home Minister Buta Singh and MNF chief Laldenga in New Delhi, an official spokesman indicated a draft agreement had been prepared and an accord was expected "very soon."
In a separate development, the Army agreed to vacate the Red Fort complex, handing over most of it to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Of the 80.45-acre complex, the Army held 68.45 acres, restricting ASI access. The decision, rooted in a directive from the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, aimed to remove the Army from all ancient forts under its control.
