News In Brief

Leaders of 4 Indian states protest Kashmiri's ouster

Chief ministers of four Indian states walked out of a meeting of the National Development Council Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of manipulating the firing of the chief minister of Kashmir, Farouq Abdullah.

Mrs. Gandhi was attending the two-day session of the committee, the country's highest economic policy-making body. The walkout followed a meeting Wednesday of 19 opposition leaders, including the four chief ministers, where they joined forces in a national campaign against Mrs. Gandhi over Mr. Abdullah's firing.

In another development Wednesday, Sikh leaders said the government's white paper on extremism in Punjab State is ''a bundle of white lies,'' and they will issue their own position paper to rebut the charges.