2 min readMay 9, 2026 06:30 AM IST
First published on: May 9, 2026 at 06:30 AM IST

The Akali Dal split with 27 dissidents forming a separate group in the Vidhan Sabha and reducing the Barnala government to a minority in the House. The Speaker, Ravi Inder Singh, has recognised the dissident group as a separate political party and ruled that, as it consists of more than one-third of the strength of the Akali Dal legislature party, its members “do not incur any disqualification” under paragraph 3 of the 10th schedule of the Constitution.

Ershad on elections

With the Jatiya Party still needing 69 seats for an absolute majority in the National Assembly and only slightly ahead of the Awami League-led alliance, the Bangladesh President, H M Ershad, asserted that it will be able to form the government. He said that in case it fell short,  the party leaders would know how to go about their business, indicating that the 20 Independents elected so far could be made use of.

Tackling the AIDS crisis

The government has formulated and launched a national plan of action to prevent and control AIDS. All blood from professional donors will be screened hereafter to detect the presence of AIDS and the hepatitis-B viruses. The import of blood and blood products from outside will be strictly regulated to ensure that they are not infected with the AIDS virus. An alert has been sounded in all 106 medical colleges. Directors of health services of all states, and the Indian Medical Association, have also been alerted to look out.

National education policy

The Lok Sabha adopted the draft policy on education after a stout defence of the policy by the Human Resource Development Minister, P V Narasimha Rao. Rao said the country will have a national system of education with a core curriculum that will be monitored. The curriculum has been formulated in consultation with the states, and various experts’ views on the subject have also been taken into consideration.