1.
GV: gates of Radio and Television Centre in New Delhi.
0.03

2.
GV: demonstrators breaking through police cordon.
0.21

3.
GV PAN: demonstrators at gate scatter as police fire tear gas.
0.37

4.
GV: demonstrators being arrested and placed in police bus (2 shots)
0.54

5.
GV: police bus leaving with demonstrators clinging to back and chanting
1.05

6.
SV PAN: mounted police.
1.14

7.
GV: more arrests taking place and demonstrators being taken on to bus.
1.26

8.
GV PAN: police bus leaving TILT UP TO Television transmitter.
1.36

9.
GV: crowd greeting Mrs Indira Gandhi arriving on train at Delhi railway station.
1.39

10.
LV: Mrs Gandhi standing at door of train.
2.14

11.
SV: police controlling crowds.
2.18

12.
SV: Mrs Gandhi being escorted through crowd at station.
2.29


Political observers in New Delhi say the government's handling of her case and its apparent decline in popularity since the election have combined to give a fresh boost to Mrs Gandhi's political career. Indian newspapers have reported moves within the Congress Party to persuade her to return as its new president next January. The reports said her supporters were trying to take advantage of the tide of public sympathy now running in her favour to place her once more at the head of the party that governed India for 30 years until last March.




Initials RH/0215



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In india, police fired tear gas and arrested 90 supporters of Mrs Indira Gandhi's Congress Party while breaking up a demonstration outside the state-owned all-India Radio in New Delhi, the capital, on Saturday (8 October).

SYNOPSIS: Several hundred members of the Congress Party Youth Forum gathered near the radio station and television centre. Many of them broke through police cordons to the gates of the station to protest against allegedly biased coverage on television of demonstrations in New Delhi earlier this week.

Seven tear-gas shells were fired to hold back the protesters. The 90 were arrested for defying the current ban on assemblies of more than five people.

The demonstrators shouted slogans including 'Long live Indira Gandhi'. Some slogans were directed at Home Minister Charan Singh who ordered the former Prime Minster's arrest a week ago (3 October) on corruption charges. But Mrs Gandhi was released 15 hours later by a New Delhi magistrate who found she had no case to answer. Among those arrested included the Youth Forum General Secretary Lalit Maken. Police superintendent Kulbir Singh said some demonstrators were charged with assault ??? on police - and injuring a police horse which was hit by a tear gas shell allegedly thrown by a protester.

In a protest letter to All-India Radio's station director, the Youth Forum alleged that the radio and television were presenting 'distorted facts.'
They covered a handful of the ruling Janata Party workers raising anti-Indira Gandhi and anti-Congress slogans outside the court, but ignored her supporters, said the letter.

Mrs gandhi's supporters again defied the ban on public assemblies on Saturday when they turned up at the New Delhi railway statio in their hundreds to give her a rousing reception. She was returning from a tour of Prime Minister Morarji Desai's home state of Gujarat. Police had difficulty controlling the crowd and 23 people were arrested.

Mrs Gandhi, who seemed destined for political oblivion after her crushing General Election defeat last March, has won new support following her arrest and subsequent release.