More Power for the P.M.

During a three-day barnstorming tour of Maharashtra state, Sanjay Gandhi was asked in Bombay whether he intended to run for Parliament in the next election. Answered the imperious younger son of India's imperious Prime Minister: "I do not even know when the elections are to be held."

Neither do other Indians. Last week Indira Gandhi moved on two fronts to strengthen her powers and continue India's relentless pace toward a more centralized, authoritarian government. The Indian Parliament finally approved a much-debated package of constitutional amendments that limit the powers of the presidency and the courts and enlarge those of Parliament and the Prime Minister. Since Mrs. Gandhi's Congress Party holds an overwhelming majority in both houses, the amendments reinforce the party's already substantial power. Shortly afterward, Parliament approved a government request to postpone once again national elections, originally scheduled for last March, and the life of the present Lok Sabha (lower house) was extended until March 1978.

Both actions were bitterly criticized by opponents of the government. Informed of the postponed elections, ailing Opposition Leader J.P. Narayan had a wry, two-word response: "For eternity." Opposition Members of Parliament called the constitutional amendments nothing less than a "blueprint for dictatorship." Most of them boycotted the special legislative session and protested the fact that at least 30 opposition M.P.s are still being held in "preventive" detention.

"The word dictatorship is frequently bandied about," answered Mrs. Gandhi during parliamentary debate last week. "Not only our system but our methods of working leave little room for authoritarianism." Thereupon the amendments sailed through the Rajya Sabha (upper house) by a vote of 191 to 0. They are expected to be ratified in short order by a majority of India's 22 state legislatures, most of which are also controlled by the Congress Party.

The omnibus bill reinforces the powers of the Prime Minister and drastically curbs the judiciary. Specifically, the amendments 1) prohibit the Supreme Court from challenging legislation except on narrow procedural grounds, 2) take away the President's few discretionary powers by requiring him to follow the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and 3) prohibit "antinational activities and organizations." Critics were particularly fearful of this third, vaguely worded provision, which they believe could lead to even further repression of political opposition.

Caught Off Guard. Although the constitutional changes had been in the wind for months, the delay in elections caught even some of Mrs. Gandhi's supporters off guard. On the surface, there seemed every reason why the Prime Minister should go to the polls in the next few months, if only to reap the political benefits of two consecutive good harvests, the best in India's history. But Mrs. Gandhi is not yet satisfied with the results of her 20-point economic program initiated under emergency rule. Moreover, if she were to allow even the semblance of a free campaign, she would have to relinquish those special powers. In fact, the wholesale price index is up 10% in the past six months. Diehard opponents of her regime have gone underground. More ominously, there has been increasingly violent resistance to the government's aggressive family-planning program, which has caused rioting, resulting in some deaths in several northern cities and towns. Birth control has become such an inflammatory issue in some heavily Moslem sectors that a secret intelligence report reputedly warned Mrs. Gandhi, 59, that she might lose an open election in her own state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress Party traditionally relies on strong Moslem support.

The postponement of elections has not slowed down Sanjay Gandhi, 29, a whiz-kid automotive designer and increasingly vocal supporter of his mother's policies. Sanjay, who until the emergency was preoccupied with his automobile factory in New Delhi, flies around the country, talking before mass rallies, giving pep talks to party leaders and calling at family-planning clinics. "The future generation will not judge India just on the basis of one election," he told reporters after the electoral delay. "The future generation will want a strong economy." Perhaps so, but some cynics are beginning to wonder if the grooming of Sanjay Gandhi might not also be a factor in the delay.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.