gaddam@remus.rutgers.edu (Surekha Reddy Gaddam) (05/23/91)
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From: K. Sankara Rao ksrao@power.eee.ndsu.nodak.edu
Department of Electrical Engineering
North Dakota State University, Fargo
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Approved: gaddam@remus.rutgers.edu
By and large the situation in many Indian cities is much calmer than
what was aprrehended last night. Both Mark Tully and Brian Baron (BBC TV) said
in their live reports (about 6 pm IST) that they have not heard of any major
clashes. There were two places north of Delhi where there was police firing.
Rajeev Gandhi's body was flown this morning from Madras in an Air Force
plane. His widow, Sonya and daughter Priyanka accompanied the body. Rajiv's son
is on his way to Delhi from US where is is studying. The body had been taken to
AIMS for post mortem and later taken to Nehru's house for laying in state.
There is a ver heavy security around the place and an orderly flow of mourners
are allowed in in small groups. The persons sitting outside the house are
having a mixture of emotions anger, sadness, frustration, apprehension and
revenge. There have been even shouts against US and "Bush Murdabad".
In Andhra Pradesh there is curfew in Vijayawada where two children died
in police firing. In Hydreabad as of last night two cinema houses belonging to
NTR have been set ablaze. There are numerous reports of arson and looting
(though at a much lower scale that apprehended) from all over the country.
The Congress party has been meeting all day (possibly Workin Committee).
Last night one of the names floating around was that of Pranab Mukharjee. But
in today's reports, the names I heard were that of PV Narasimha Rao and Sonya
Gandhi, proposed by a Congress MP.
A note: Compared to the three on the air networks in the US, Great Britain
has very extensive coverage. Yesterday on BBC, there was more than half an hour
coverage on their nine-o-clock news and newsnight. On Channel four there was
more than 30 minutes of coverage. This morning on ther breakfast show, they had
a continuous coverage for an hour with a few minutes in between for some other
new. The US networks (other than CNN) seem to consider this as not very
important news for the American public. Probably they are right.
Subject: Sonia Gandhi elected Cong(I) President
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From: Sundar.Vallinayagam@speech1.cs.cmu.edu
Date: Wed, 22 May 91 10:16:50 EDT
Source: May 22nd 1300hrs GMT BBC News Bulletin:
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Sonia Gandhi elected unanimously Cong(I) president--India
mourns Rajiv Gandhi's death--thousands throng to pay homage--body
to be cremated on Friday--elections postponed.
Mark Tully reporting from Delhi says the the Congress Working Committee
has unanimously elected Sonia Gandhi as its party president to succeed
Rajiv Gandhi. It is not known whether she has accepted the offer. She
has shown strong distaste to politics and it is not clear whether she
will agree to this move. It is also not clear what the reaction of the
rank and file of the party will be. This is surmised to be a stop gap
arrangement. It is also believed to be a rather crude attempt to garner
votes for the Cong(I). Sonia is an Indian citizen now and whether her
Italian origin will cause difficulties for her becoming the Prime Minister
of India is not clear yet. The BJP is likely to extract maximum poliitcal
mileage out of this latest move, highlighting her Italian origins and playing
tha nationalistic card.
The body of Mr. Gandhi was flown to Delhi where it was met by a large crowd
of people and politicians. Thousands braved the intense summer heat to pay
homage to the killed leader. The streets of Delhi are strangely silent and
the army has been put on maximum alert. Army personnel were seen issuing
warning to the people to stay indoors and maintain calm. Both the president
and the prime minister have appealed for calm. Other major Indian cities are
also calm. A Supreme Court judge has
been appointed to head an enquiry team to probe into the assassination.
The Home Minister has blamed the LTTE for the killing. The LTTE, however,
has denied the allegation. Sri Lankan army gun boats are patrolling the
Palk Straits soon after the news about Mr. Gandhi's killing came in. World
leaders have been offering their condolences.
The news has been greeted with disbelief among all party leaders.
Around 20 people were killed when the bomb exploded. Earlier, Mr. Gandhi
was greeted with fire-crackers. Eye witnesses said that the explosion went
off along with the crackers. It is not clear whether there was one or
two explosions. The theory that the bomb was planted in the garland or
in the boquet seems less feasible. It is believed that the bomb might
have been buried in the ground and set off by remote control. Police and
investigating teams are still gathering forensic evidence and details have
not been released yet.
In Madras there is virtually no traffic in the streets. Train services
have been suspdended. The TN Cong(I) president has blamed the Tamil Tigers
for the killing. In Hyderabad two childeren were killed when police opened
fire to disperse angry crowds.
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mr. Premadasa has condemned the killing. There
has been mixed reaction among the Sri Lankan people. There were fears in
Sri Lanka about Rajiv Gandhi returning to power in Delhi. It was feared that
he might flex his muscles and put pressure on the Sri Lankan Govt. to solve
the Tamil problem quickly.
The Prime Minister Mr. Chandra Sekhar said it was a most tragic incident. He
said he cannot, at this stage, point an accusing finger at anyone. He hoped
that the stability of the country will not be threatened. He also couldn't
predict how people would react to Mr. Gandhi's assassination. He was quite
confident that elections will go ahead next month without much trouble.
Ramli.
(ramli@orca.ele.uri.edu)
Subject: sonia gandhi elected congress president
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From: bala@ulysses.att.com
Date: Wed, 22 May 91 10:33:13 EDT
Source: included in the text
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NEW DELHI, India (AP) - India's dominant Congress Party today
elected Rajiv Gandhi's widow to lead the party following the
assassination of the former prime minister.
Party spokesman Pranab Mukherjee said the Congress leaders
unanimously elected the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi at an hourlong
meeting while her husband's body lay in state.
The announcement was made before Mrs. Gandhi was informed of the
decision, party leaders said. Her response was not immediately
known.
The choice, which would put the politically inexperienced Mrs.
Gandhi in a leading position to become prime minister, would
perpetuate the dynasty that has ruled India for 37 of its 43 years
as an independent nation.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed during parliamentary elections that his
party was expected to win, allowing him to form a coalition
government. The election was suspended after he was killed by a
bomb blast Tuesday night.
``It is a crucial moment in the history of the Congress,'' said
senior party leader P.V. Narasimha Rao, a close friend of the
Gandhi family. ``We have taken a decision and we will abide by
it,'' he said.
The decision could not immediately be conveyed to Mrs. Gandhi
``because she is in grief,'' said Janardhan Reddy, the chief
minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh and a senior Congress
leader.
Fifteen other people were killed in the attack on Rajiv Gandhi,
46, in the remote town of Sriperambudur, 25 miles southwest of
Madras in Tamil Nadu state.
At least seven people were killed today as angry crowds surged
through the streets in many areas. Dozens of towns were put under
curfews, and dozens more observed voluntary strikes as a sign of
respect for Gandhi.
Mrs. Gandhi, 43, often accompanied her husband on the hustings
but stayed in New Delhi with her daughter Priyanka, 21, on Tuesday
when her husband campaigned in the south. Her son Rahul, 20, was in
the United States at the time of the attack. He was en route home
today.
The Gandhis met while they were students at Cambridge University
in England and married in 1968 when he was a commercial airline
pilot. Mrs. Gandhi was born in Turin, Italy, but is now an Indian
citizen.
She has rarely spoken in public except when campaigning for her
husband. Other public activities have been limited to occasionally
tending to matters dealing with his constituency.
End of News
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Edited to suit the news group needs.