Zail Singh assumed office as the seventh President of the republic with a solemn pledge to carry out his tasks without fear or favour, and to live up to the great traditions of his predecessors. In his first address to the nation minutes after taking oath, Zail Singh called for more discipline in national life to guard against the dangers of the political and social order. Singh, the first Sikh to occupy the highest office, was administered the oath by Chief Justice YV Chandrachud at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
PLO resolution
US Congressman Paul N. McCloskey Jr. announced that Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, signed a document for the US Congressional delegation accepting all UN resolutions recognizing Israel’s right to exist. McCloskey, a California Republican, said Arafat had met the conditions for US recognition of the PLO. “I intend to return and I hope that my colleague will join me in recommending to Secretary Schultz that we now begin negotiations with the PLO,” McCloskey said.
unions strike
The National Productivity Year declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is heading towards ending as a year of persistent low industrial growth, more layoffs and strikes, resulting in the loss of a record number of man-days. According to the latest data, there has been a marked decline in the growth rate of industrial production in 1982. There has been an alarming increase in the loss of man days due to strikes in different parts of the country. Trade union circles are expecting more strikes in some key industries in the coming months.
new home minister
Chief Martial Law Administrator Lt Gen HM Ershad has appointed Bangladesh’s intelligence chief Major-General VMK Chowdhury as Home Minister, Radio Bangladesh reported.