Rama Rao, who was reinstalled as Chief Minister, got 161 votes in favour and none against the motion in the 293-member House.
NTR Wins Majority
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N T Rama Rao won a vote of confidence in the state Assembly which earlier elected N Venkataratnam of the ruling Telugu Desam as Speaker with a big margin. Rama Rao, who was reinstalled as Chief Minister, got 161 votes in favour and none against the motion in the 293-member House.
An Ineffective Forum
India made it clear to the Commonwealth Finance Ministers conference in Toronto that the development committee of the World Bank was not an appropriate forum to discuss issues relating to the reform of the world’s monetary and financial systems. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that neither the structure nor the past record of the development committee inspires any confidence.
Congress Loyalists
F M Khan, MP, who was expelled from the Congress (l), claimed that over 200 party MPs and thousands of partymen subscribed to his view that loyalists were being ignored by the party leadership. Khan, however, appeared to be keeping his options open when he said he was still hopeful of meeting the party president, Mrs Indira Gandhi. He also wrote a letter to her asserting that he was a disciplined soldier of the party.
Beirut Mission Blast
A suicide bomber in a van loaded with explosives sped through barriers and past guards at the US embassy annexe northeast of Beirut, setting off his bomb in front of the building’s entrance. Police said the blast killed 23 people, including two Americans, and wounded up to 60 including the US and British ambassadors. Emergency officials at the blast scene in Aukar said two Americans were killed and 21 Americans were among the wounded.
