40 years ago November 5, 1986: Grilling in Parliament

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 05, 1986.

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 05, 1986.

2 min readNov 5, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Nov 5, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

The government came under heavy fire from members in both Houses of Parliament for its failure to prevent an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President Zail Singh on October 2 at Raj Ghat. In what amounted to a virtual censure of the government on the opening day of the winter session, members from all sections minced no words in expressing misgivings about the security setup.

Pakistan tests explosive device

Pakistan has recently made dramatic progress towards producing a nuclear weapon, including the detonation last month of a high-explosive device, according to a published report. The Washington Post, citing a classified defence intelligence agency report, reported that Pakistan detonated the device between September 18 and 21. The newspaper, quoting unidentified sources, said the test was part of efforts to build an implosional-type nuclear weapon. The test was Pakistan’s second this year.

Shootout at minister’s house

Suspected terrorists in Punjab exchanged fire with security guards at the residence of Minister of State Prem Gupta in Chandigarh. Police sources said that according to the guards, two persons had opened fire on them when questioned. After a brief exchange of fire, the strangers escaped on foot. The minister was yet to move into this house. The police said they had recovered only three empties of the rounds fired by the guards.

PM on Gorkhaland stir

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has blamed the West Bengal government for the Gorkhaland agitation and reiterated his contention that it was not anti-national. A resume of his speech to the Congress (I) parliamentary party said, “The danger is that a section of the people is not happy with the West Bengal government. If the state government does anything to turn this section anti-national, then, it will be wrong on their part.”