It is not at all clear why Mrs. Gandhi has chosen to express the doubt that elections to the Lok Sabha might not be held on January 3 and 6 as scheduled. On October 22 the President, Mr. Sanjiva Reddy, gave a solemn assurance to the nation not only on behalf of the caretaker government but also on his own that the proposed poll would not be postponed. On the face of it, nothing has happened since to justify any misgivings in this regard. Even the irrepressible Mr. Raj Narain, the Lok Dal’s working president, has not renewed his demand for deferring the elections till some time in February on account of the drought in large parts of the country. Indeed, as promised by the President, the chief election commissioner as since announced firm dates for polling. Why then has the former Prime Minister spoken in the refrain she has? The question is particularly pertinent in the light of the fact that she has spoken with due deliberation. Two points are notable in this connection. First, she made the statement at a meeting with newspaper correspondents and not at a public gathering. The distinction is not insignificant, though Mrs. Gandhi seldom says anything in the heat of the moment. Secondly, on the same day as she expressed the doubt in Calcutta, the Congress (I) general secretary, Mr. AR Antulay, spelt out his party’s misgivings at a press briefing in New Delhi. Apparently she had asked him to do so before she left the capital for West Bengal. Unlike their counterparts in other parties, the Congress (I) functionaries do not speak out of turn. They speak to a clear brief, as anyone who has followed their statements and speeches can easily testify. If there was any scope for doubt, it is removed by the fact that both Mrs. Gandhi and Mr. Antulay have referred to Mr. SN Mishra’s meeting with President Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan in Havana at the time of the non-aligned summit last September in order to lend substance to their apprehension.
We find it difficult, if not impossible, to subscribe to the view that General Zia and Mr. Mishra have made a deal whereby some border incidents are to be staged so that the elections in this country can be postponed. We do not believe either that Mr. Charan Singh and his cabinet colleagues are such dishonourable men or that President Zia will be so keen to oblige them. To put it at its lowest, if border incidents had to be arranged by mutual agreement, they should have taken place before the General postponed indefinitely the poll in his own country, that is, when these would have served his purpose as well. We are frankly baffled by Mrs. Gandhi’s statement. But, we also feel obliged to add that she and her Congress (I) followers are not the only ones to entertain doubts regarding the government’s intentions. Many ordinary people share these. Only in 1977 has this country gone through an atmosphere of such distrust of those in office. Perhaps this can be dispelled only when the polling takes place on January 3 and 6.
The Times of India, 1 November 1979