This is the front page of The Indian Express published on April 18, 1984.
Six persons were killed and eight injured in Punjab and Chandigarh during the past 24 hours while night curfew was imposed in Patiala. Tensions were high in the Golden Temple Complex at Amritsar. Inder Pal Gupta, President of the Hindu Suraksha Samiti was shot dead and seven other persons sustained injuries when three young men, riding a scooter, ran amuck with a stent gun and bomb.
Harchand v Jarnail
The government has adopted a cautious line of approach to solve the Punjab tangle in view of the open fight between supporters of the Akali Dal chief, Harchand Singh Longowal, and the militant Sikh leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, within the Golden Temple Complex. Though the differences surfaced two months ago, it has now come out as a fight between the two groups.
Opposition Unite
The non BJP-Lok Dal opposition parties reaffirmed their resolve to continue to mobilise public opinion against the government’s failure to maintain national unity and contain growing unemployment and rising prices but made it clear that their coming together did not mean that they would contest the elections unitedly. The CPI-M general secretary E M S Namboodiripad, who moved the draft declaration for adoption at the convention of opposition parties admitted differences on policy issues.
Cross-voting In MH
At least 13 Congress (I) MLAs cross-voted in the biennial elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council, enabling the Opposition to win an additional seat at the cost o f the ruling party. What may have shocked the party leadership was the blatant defiance of discipline.
