Skeletons and Cabinets

Nireekshak NO paper squeezed as much drama out of l'affaire Chandra Shekhar as Free Press Journal, "Crisis in Congress", the paper proclaimed over five columns of its front page on March 12, This was followed by streamers: "Bickerings Will Ruin Party: Morarji", "No Regrets for Utterances: Chandra Shekhar" and "Indira Puts Up Poor Show". The Prime Minister's handling of the "vital issue of indiscipline" at the Congress Working Committee meeting had been, the paper's Delhi correspondent reported, "rather feeble". Her defence of Morarji had been "very weak" and it was only when "support to the case of the Deputy Prime Minister mounted" that she had agreed to meet Chandra Shekhar to try to persuade him to express regret.