May 24, 1985, Forty Years Ago: PM In Minsk
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was given a warm welcome when he arrived in Minsk, the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. It is one of the 15 Soviet republics. Rajiv Gandhi laid a wreath on the Victory Square at the obelisk commemorating the Soviet army men who died fighting for the liberation of their homeland from Nazi invaders.
Work at AIIMS was seriously affected following a strike by the resident doctors, even as the hospital authorities claimed that the services, including the OPD, ran normally. However, the hospital administration has decided to close down the outpatient department. They alleged that resident doctors who reported for duty were physically intimidated and pulled out of their rooms by the striking doctors.
The Government is likely to announce its decision regarding the purchase of at least 12 new aircraft for Indian Airlines at a cost of about $500 million (about Rs 500 crore) shortly. Sensing this, the two contenders for the prestigious bid — the Boeing Company of the US and Airbus Industrie, an Anglo-French aerospace firm — have intensified their last-minute lobbying to a fever pitch. Indications are that the government decision for the purchase of the aircraft, spread over the next three years, will be made shortly after the Prime Minister's return from Moscow.
The meeting of the skeleton ad-hoc committee of the 'merged' Akali Dal, convened in Amritsar by Baba Joginder Singh, ended in a whimper. Attended by only four members, the meeting termed illegal the recent conclave of Akali Dal (L) jathedars.
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