News In Brief
| New Delhi
Mrs. Gandhi ousts Kashmir opposition
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's administration dismissed the opposition-led government in the northern state of Kashmir Monday, an official announcement said. Armed police were called out and an indefinite curfew imposed in Srinagar, the capital.
The ouster of Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah came hours after 12 state legislators defected from his National Conference Party, eliminating the party's majority.
G. M. Shah, the leader of the defecting legislators, was later sworn in as the top political official in Kashmir. Mr. Shah's government will be backed by Mrs. Gandhi's 26-member Congress Party in the state assembly.
Mr. Abdullah said the dismissal of his government was ''constitutional fraud.'' He charged that Mrs. Gandhi, her Congress Party, and government had engineered the defections in order to topple him.
