40 years ago July 30, 1986: Opposition stops amendment

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on July 30, 1986. 2 min readJul 30, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Jul 30, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST The Union government’s move to to arm itself with special powers in border states proved abortive when an alert Opposition showed the proposed amendment was redundant. When PM Rajiv Gandhi convened a meeting of opposition leaders to seek support, Madhu Dandavate read out Article 249 to show the Constitution provided for these contingencies. The PM said the government would abandon the move. HM slams Badal, TohraHome Minister Buta Singh lambasted the dissident Akali leaders, who were colluding with extremists in Punjab, and said some leaders were willingly or unwillingly acting as agents of the country’s enemies. He said Parkash Singh