The Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, said to-day [June 20] that “butchery in Bangla Desh” would have to stop first before India took part in any mediation efforts on the issue. She was answering questions on developments in Bangla Desh and the resultant problem of six million refugees on Indian soil at a 30-minute news conference here [Srinagar] at the conclusion of her visit to Kashmir valley. On recognition of Bangla Desh, the Prime Minister made it clear that the time for it “has not come yet.” It was for the Government to decide what was good for the country, she added, and not what some people said or demanded. India, said Mrs. Gandhi, would continue to watch the situation as it developed in Bangla Desh. Just now it had no specific solution to the problem. She went on: “I only know that we are not going to allow them (refugees) to stay on here — neither shall we allow them to be butchered there.” Asked what India planned to do if Pakistan failed to respond to Indian pleas, she replied: “We will see what the situation is” and went on to add in a lighter vein: “as I love the press, I do not think I shall tell them first.”
