NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar said Thursday there was no paucity of leaders in the Congress (I) and expressed the belief that the party would “find its own leader”. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi would not cause a “vacuum for all times to come” and therefore would not “have any lasting impact on the stability of the country” he said in an interview to Bulgarian television and PTI-TV.

Reminded that he had been a former congress man and asked about a possible political realignment he said he did not Subscribe to the theory of paucity of leaders in the Congress (I) as it was a party with an old history and it would be “unfair to the party… to harp on that theory”.

There is no dearth of leaders because leaders are made over-night. If you elect a person to be the prime minister of the country he will carry the country one way or the other,” he said,

Acknowledging that the Gandhi’s assassination had created apprehensions about the future of the country, Chandra Shekhar said he was confident that the country would come out of the crisis.

“I do not see any reason to be pessimistic about future because in the last four decades India has faced many a problems of serious nature but the Indian people have behaved in a very mature manner and risen to the occasion at all times they will come out of the crisis. I am quite confident about it” Chandra Shekhar added

NEW DELHI: The joint statement by Mr Arjun Singh Mr Sharad Pawar and Mr N.D.Tiwari on the Congress Parliamentary Party leadership issue has been widely welcomed June 9 in party circles

The observation by the three leaders’ that all Congressmen stood united behind the new Congress president Mr P.V Narasimha Rao to fight the elections “in order to fulfill the dream for which Rajiv Gandhi laid down his life” is perceived by Congressmen as an Attempt to put an end to canards about any disunity or infighting within the Congress Party

The statement was released by Mr Sitaram Kesri MP and AIGC treasurer after he spoke to the three party leaders in person or over the telephone in the last two days.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 14, 1991