P.M. TO MEET OPPOSITION LEADERS
NEW DELHI, June 27.-The Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, has convened a meeting of the Opposition leaders in Parliament tomorrow to discuss the Bangladesh situation, reports UNI.
The Lok Sabha is debating the issue later in the day. According to informed sources, The Prime Minister has invited the opposition leaders for a discussion prior to the debate in order to take them into confidence about the Government’s latest thinking on the subject.
Our Staff Reporter in Calcutta adds : The AICC (R) General Secretary, Dr Henry Austin, today hinted that the Congress M. Ps would condemn the U. S. arms shipments to Pakistan in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. How said: ‘there can be no support for the U.S. decision which makes one suspicious of the genuineness of the Americans’ sympathy for the Bangladesh people.”
The AICC (R) general secretary had led a six-member delegation of Congress (R) M. P.s. to West Bengal for an on-the-spot survey of the refugee situation. The team, which visited camps at Bongaon and Basirhat, had found that the influx was continuing. In reply to a question Dr Austin said that many of the newcomers were Muslims. the team would submit a report to the Prime Minister suggesting, among other things, additional relief measures.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 28.6.1971