40 years ago, July 9, 1986: PM Rajiv Gandhi criticises irrigation planning

Gandhi made these remarks while inaugurating the two-day national conference on irrigation and

water resources. (Archive)

2 min readJul 9, 2026 06:30 AM IST

First published on: Jul 9, 2026 at 06:30 AM IST

The Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, has come down heavily on the way irrigation projects were planned and implemented in the past. He ridiculed the practice of laying foundation stones for too many projects which could not be completed in time. Gandhi made these remarks while inaugurating the two-day national conference on irrigation and water resources.

Union minister under fire

Controversy over the appointment of judges to the Karnataka High Court snowballed with Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde and his senior cabinet colleague S R Bommai accusing Union Minister of State for Law H R Bharadwaj of denigrating the judiciary. While Hegde, in a strongly-worded letter to the Prime Minister, said he would leave it to Gandhi to decide whether a person who had been fulminating against the judiciary was fit to continue in office, Bommai said at a press conference that Bharadwaj should be dismissed for misconduct.

Controversial judge sworn in

Even as advocates in the city’s courts went on strike in protest against the elevation of Mahesh Chandra to the Delhi High Court, the controversial appointee was sworn in by the Chief Justice, Dalip Kapur.

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