New President Considered

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31981, 7 May 1969, Page 17

New President Considered

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) NEW DELHI, May 6. Indian political leaders began today to give serious thought to the choice of a new President to succeed Dr Zakir Husain, who was buried in New Delhi with State honours yesterday.

The election by an Electoral College must be held within six months and it is. expect. J that it will be arranged during the monsoon session of Parliament in August and September. Meanwhile, the Vice-

President, Dr V. V. Giri, has become Acting President The.' new President to be elected will be entitled to hold office for the full five-year term. The choice will be made with the realisation that although the President has until now been a constitutional Head of State acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, he does in fact hold wide executive powers which could be of vital importance if the Congress Party fails to get a clear majority in the 1972 General Elections.

The Congress Party is considered certain to be able to get its candidate elected by the college consisting of members of the two houses of Parliament and of the State Legislatures. But opposition parties are expected to get together

again to put up a candidate ; as they did against Dr Husain in 1967. Their choice that; year was a former Chief Jus-; tide of the Supreme Court, Mr Koka Subba Rao. The Right-wing Swatantra Party is believed to be considering nominating Mr Subba Rao i again this year. The judiciary is held in the highest respect in India, and it is significant that an early name that emerged in informal Congress Party discussions at the week-end was that of another former chief : justice, Dr P. B. Gajendragadkar.

Another name publicly proposed by a Congress Party member is that of the Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Jagjivan Ram. He is a Congress Party man but is also a leader of the Harijans—the depressed community formerly known as Untouchables.