From the Archives (September 25, 1970): U.P. coalition breaks up

The six-month-old Uttar Pradesh Coalition of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal and Ruling Congress broke down to-night [September 24] after a day long political drama in which the Chief Minister Mr. Charan Singh took the first offensive by demanding the resignation of 14 of his ministers (13 of Congress (R) and one of B.K.D.) from his Cabinet. He later advised the Governor, Mr. Gopala Reddi to dismiss the ministers if they failed to tender resignations. Swiftly reacting to the Chief Minister’s action, the State leadership of the Congress (R) with the approval of the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who flew in on an unscheduled visit to Lucknow, withdrew support to the Government. Political circles here [Lucknow] fear a grave legal and constitutional crisis following the day's developments. The break up of the coalition was not unexpected as events last night had portended so, but what took the State by surprise was the Chief Minister asking in the first instance resignation of all 26 Congress Ministers and then picking up only 13 of them and one from his own party whose loyalty he had doubted.