40 years ago November 12, 1986: AICC(I) office-bearers resign

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 13, 1986.

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 13, 1986.

AI Narration

Listen

00:00

2 min readNov 13, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Nov 13, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

Congress (I) working president Kamlapati Tripathi and all the office-bearers of the All India Congress (I) Committee submitted their resignations to party president Rajiv Gandhi. The stage is now set for the reorganisation of the party at the central level. The post of working president, which is not provided for in the Congress constitution and was created specially by Indira Gandhi for Tripathi, is certain to be abolished.

Five killed in Punjab

Five persons, including three members of a family, were killed and two scooters were snatched by suspected terrorists while security forces nabbed a self-styled “general” of a militant organisation, “Tat Khalsa”, during the last 24 hours in Punjab. The fifth killing took place in Kamalpur village. Chaman Lal, a shopkeeper, was shot dead by four suspected terrorists. The assailants, armed with pistols, a rifle and a double-barreled gun, managed to escape.

Delhi hospital services hit

The deadlock between the Junior Doctors Federation (JDF) and the government continues, with the JDF claiming that the government had made no further approach for negotiations since talks broke down. At Loknayak J P Hospital, the city’s largest, attendance at the OPD dropped sharply from the normal 4,000 cases daily to 564. The casualty department, which normally deals with 400 cases, had only 15 serious cases.

Zia’s concern

Pakistan President General Zia-ul-Haq said he had taken up with India the issue of the latter “amassing” troops on the border and had been assured it was for training purposes. “We accept their argument,” Gen Zia said. “We hope there will not be any war between the two countries.” He added, “But I am not saying this apologetically. Pakistan will defend its borders and every inch of the lane against any aggressor.”