MORARJI DESAI’S RESIGNATION ACCEPTED

NEW DELHI, July 19 (UNI)—The Acting President, Mr. V.V. Giri, this evening accepted Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s resignation from the Cabinet. The Prime Minister had recommended the acceptance of Mr. Desai’s resignation following his refusal to stay as the Deputy PM with a suitable alternative portfolio in place of finance, taken away by her in a surprise move on Wednesday. She informed Mr. Desai of this in a letter sent today. Mr. Desai, backed by the Congress High Command members, demanded that the Finance Portfolio be returned to him. Mrs. Gandhi rejected his demand, insisting that she had taken over the portfolio to fulfil her responsibility for the implementation of the All-India Congress Committee’s resolution on economic policy.