2 min readFeb 21, 2026 07:37 AM IST
First published on: Feb 21, 2026 at 06:45 AM IST
The Punjab Chief Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala, plans to summon a meeting of the peace and harmony committee as authorities issued shoot-at-sight orders in the curfew-bound industrial town of Batala. The death toll rose to three amid reports of trouble at Gurdaspur, Patti and Patiala.
President’s cautionary note
The president, Zail Singh, cautioned the people to be ready for more sacrifices and hardship. He made no direct reference to the sudden spurt in prices that has provoked the Opposition to launch a nationwide agitation, but said that no one should be under the delusion that growth, social justice, price stability and self-reliance are achievable without efficiency, discipline and sharing of burdens.
PM on ‘closed-door’ meets
ThE Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, has cautioned party MPs that they should avoid accepting “closed-door” individual invitations, in the light of the recent disclosures made in the Ram Swarup espionage case. The PM made these observations while addressing a meeting of the Congress-I Parliamentary Party in the Central Hall of Parliament.
Iranian plane shot down
Iran said an Iraqi jet fighter shot down an Iranian passenger plane on a domestic flight between Tehran and Ahvaz. An Iranian official in New York said the plane carried at least 46 people, and all were believed killed. The official Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted an Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad as denying the Iranian claim.
