The All India Congress Committee to-day [June 4, New Delhi] called upon the Working Committee to evolve “such measures as would reverse undesirable trends, stimulate growth of the economy and strengthen the forces of national integration, secularism, democracy and socialism.” An alternative resolution moved to this effect by Mr. C. Subramaniam on behalf of the Working Committee on the political situation in the country was unanimously adopted to-day by the AICC. Mr. S.N. Mishra withdrew his resolution which wanted to review the “rapidly deteriorating political situation in the country which may threaten the national unity and undermine the democratic structure itself” and to entrust to the AICC the task of evolving “an approach to face up to the challenges confronting the Congress”. All amendments to this resolution also lapsed. Earlier, the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, addressing the members deprecated the talk of groupism in the party. She called on Congressmen to take a pledge to work as a united team to take the country forward to the goal of a democratic socialist State. She deplored the talk of “who is whose man” in connection with the election to the Central Election Committee. She said that all of them were responsible leaders and it would be derogatory to talk of them in a disparaging manner. She felt that this kind of talk that led to groupism had brought down the prestige not only of the leaders, but also of the organisation itself. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Morarji Desai, who intervened in the debate on the resolution, spoke, for 45 minutes lashing out at the critics who prophesied gloom and disaster for the country. He repudiated the suggestion in the resolution sponsored by the requisitionists that the political situation was rapidly deteriorating. He said that the situation did cause concern soon after the general election last year and many in India and abroad felt that democracy was in danger. But, Mr. Desai maintained, the same could not be said of the situation today.
