President S. Radhakrishnan’s five-year term was to end in May 1967. He had been openly critical of the Prime Minister’s style of functioning and, in his broadcast to the nation of 25 January 1967, on the eve of Republic Day, he overstepped the bounds of constitutional propriety when he said, ‘Even after making allowance for all the difficulties we cannot forgive widespread incompetence and gross mismanagement of our resources.’ Indira Gandhi was upset and annoyed by this and decided not to give Radhakrishnan a second term—the eminent philosopher paid the price for patronizing a powerful
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