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| Monday, August 7, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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8 parties flay HC
verdict on strikes Take up flood issue
with China: HP Uttaranchal interim govt in 3
months |
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Shekhar asks Oppn to unite Paswan hints at
floating new party
Nitish for genetic
modification of crops
Bihar told to file reply HP asks Centre to
waive copter charges ‘BJP not to rake up
contentious issues’ Pak-backed outfit plans
mayhem in J-K NHRC urged to probe
‘repression’ in AP ‘Impose Article
355 in Bengal’ Rain likely
in J&K, Himachal Centre must take over
J&K security: VHP Protest against
massacre
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8 parties flay HC
verdict on strikes
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (UNI) — Eight political parties in a joint statement have criticised the judgement of the Kerala High Court making hartals “illegal” and directing the Election Commission to deregister any political party found indulging in hartals. This is an unfortunate decision, which requires serious consideration, a press release by the Communist Party of India said here today. The joint statement which was signed by Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), RJD’s Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Ram Deo Bhandari, BSP’s Mayawati and Gandhi Azad, National Congress Party’s Purno a Sangma, CPI’s Inderjit Gupta and J Chittaranjan, AIFB’s Amar Roy Pradhan, Aiadmk’s P.H. Pandian and R. Margabandhu, RSP’s Sanat Kumar Mandal, CPM’s Somnath Chatterjee and S.R. Pillai and independent member B.S. Ramowalia. They said that this unprecedented judicial action, struck at the root of the democratic and inalienable right of all citizens to oppose anti-people measures and the unchallengable right of the political parties to organise mass protests in a peaceful manner. They said the way the judgement has described hartals is open to question as a matter of law in a democratic set-up. Hartals, satyagrahas and mass demonstrations by the people have a long history, originating in the freedom struggle. In a democratic society, political parties, public organisations and people themselves are entitled to register their protest on any government policy or matter of public importance including police repression. If the Kerala High Court’s judgement remains, then the fundamental right to protest will be severely restricted and the democratic system itself will be affected. The release said that the representatives of the political parties have decided to defend the right of political parties
unitedly. |
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Take up flood issue
with China: HP NEW DELHI, Aug 6 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has urged the External Affairs Ministry to take up with China the issue of recent floods in the Sutlej which caused extensive damage to property, besides claiming over 100 lives in the state. Talking to the TNS here, the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, said he had requested the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, to take up the issue with China so that advance information about a possible calamity was given to minimise the loss of life and property. “Some warning mechanism needs to be established,” he said. Though six days have elapsed since massive floods wreaked havoc in four districts of Himachal Pradesh, the exact cause of the unprecedented upsurge in the Sutlej is still being ascertained. The initial reports had blamed the floods on cloudburst but experts do not favour this possibility now. They said the floods of such immense magnitude could not have been caused by a cloudburst. The huge mass of water which came from the Tibetan side in the early hours of July 31, washed away all 17 major bridges and 50 spain bridges on the Sutlej between Khab on the Indo-Tibet border and Tatapani downstream and the 50-km stretch of road was wiped out by the river at various places. The Chief Minister said considering the scientific options available now, an advance warning system on floods between China and India should not be difficult to put in place. Ruling out any possibility of the review of the Nathpa-Jhakri project, the Chief Minister said thousands of crores of rupees had been spent on it already. Quoting experts, he said the flood fury was beyond the wildest imagination of the project designers. He said “against the normal flood frequency for hydro-electric projects of one in 100 years to one in 1,000 years, the NJPC had been designed for a frequency of one in 10,000 years. But the frequency of the flood on July 31 night was one in 61,000 years.” Though the exact nature of the extent of damage suffered by the NJPC would be known only after dewatering of the area, estimates put the loss at about Rs 700 crore. Twenty project workers also lost their lives in the floods. The damage suffered by the roads in Rampur and Kinnaur has also severely affected the millennium celebrations of the Ki monastery which were to start in the beginning of this month. Kalchakra, the first in the new century, is to be performed by the Dalai Lama at the monastery which is one of the biggest seats of Himalayan Buddhism. The state government had made massive arrangements for the celebrations which Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was also expected to attend. The Chief Minister said though the Dalai Lama had reached the Ki monastery and locals had also arrived, the participation from outside had been severely affected. Several thousand tourists, mostly foreigners, had attended the millennium celebrations of the Tabo monastery held about four years back. The Tabo celebrations had gone a long way in boosting tourism in the exotic locales of Lahaul and Spiti and the state government was expecting better returns this time. |
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Uttaranchal interim govt in 3 months LUCKNOW, Aug 6 (UNI) — The much-awaited interim government of the new Uttaranchal state is expected to start functioning within the next three months, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Bachi Singh Rawat today said. Addressing a press conference here, Mr Rawat said there was no dispute over the selection of the new chief minister of the interim government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command was competent to select the right candidate for the post. “However, I would prefer if the new CM was elected by the MLA’s,” he said. He said the first sitting of the interim assembly comprising 30 members would be held within three months after the Rajya Sabha passes the Bill and the President gives his assent. The new state will have a 70-member assembly and the elections should be held within one year after the interim assembly is constituted. The BJP Lok Sabha member said for speedy development, the new state would be given a special status, similar to that like other hill states. Ruling out differences with Uttar Pradesh after the division, the union minister said that “UP will be our elder brother and we expect full cooperation from them”. Mr Rawat, expressing concern over the viability of the new state, said with vast natural resources and potential in the field of tourism, horticulture and micro-hydel projects, the state would be able to carve a niche for itself. Commenting on the threat perception to UP over the distribution of water from several rivers flowing through the proposed state, he said “we will maintain a cordial relationship with our big brother and I assure that such things would never happen”. He said the capital of Uttaranchal would be selected by the interim assembly. Referring to the “hue and cry” raised by some political parties over the inclusion of Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the new state, the BJP leader said: “They were only trying to gain political mileage from the issue”. “People of both the districts are too happy to be in the new state,” he further added. |
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Shekhar asks Oppn to unite PATNA, Aug 6 (UNI) — Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) chief and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar today asked all opposition parties to sink their differences for launching a movement against the new economic policy. Addressing an open conference on the new economic policy here, he said it would weaken the country industrially and agriculturally. Until farmers would have to depend on foreign companies for seeds, he said and added that USA and European Union were forcing India not to give
subsidy to farmers while they were giving heavy subsidy to their “agriculture sector”. He said the Centre was selling public sector companies to foreign companies under the garb of disinvestment and alleged that banks did not care to recover outstanding loans from big business but did not hesitate to take action against small borrowers. He said tribals were agitated over their plight and would launch a movement unless corrective steps were taken immediately. Opposing the creation of small states, Mr Chandrashekhar said it was difficult to predict the future of either truncated Bihar and proposed Jharkhand at this juncture. He said while autonomy to a state was a “nice thing,” every precaution should be taken that states did not start dictating terms to the Centre. Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav said the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had given the slogan of ‘swadeshi,’ had betrayed the country by giving a free hand to foreign companies. |
Paswan hints at
floating new party
LUCKNOW, Aug 6 (PTI) — Union Communication Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today hinted that he might soon float a new political party and said negotiations were on with Lokshakti leader Ramakrishna Hegde and former Karnataka Chief Minister
H.M. Patel. Mr Paswan told PTI that he had had several rounds of talks with the two leaders. He refused to comment on his relationship with Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad
Yadav, and said formation of a new party would help bring together Janata Dal workers of different
factions. Mr Paswan accused Defence Minister and Samata Party leader George Fernandes of neither strengthening the Janata Dal nor making efforts to float a new
organisation. “His actions have only helped the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar”, he said. |
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Lala Amarnath cremated NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (UNI) — The mortal remains of former Indian cricket captain Lala Amarnath were consigned to flames at the Lodhi Road crematorium here this morning. Eightyeight-year-old Lala Amarnath, who died in his sleep early yesterday morning, was independent India’s first cricket captain The pyre was lit by his eldest son Surinder Amarnath amidst the chanting of hymns. Standing by Surinder’s side were his two younger brothers Mohinder and Rajinder. Wreaths were placed on Lala’s body by the Delhi Sports Journalists Association
(DSJA) and the DDCA. The cremation was attended by friends, admirers and a large number of sports journalists. However, conspicuous by their absence were leading cricketers and sports administrators. What came as a surprise to many was near total absence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) and Sports Ministry officials. Barring Yashpal Sharma and Gursharan Singh, none of the well-known cricketers present in the city attended the cremation. The Delhi and District Cricket Association
(DDCA) was sparsely represented. Apart from Lala’s relatives and friends it was the city’s sports scribes who were present in a large number. Most of these journalists had not seen Lalaji playing but they were there to pay tributes to the cricket icon and it was shocking that none of the bigwigs of the
BCCI had time to come and pay their last respects to a man who gave Indian cricket a new direction, said former Table Tennis Federation of India
(TTFI) President and retired senior IAS official S.P. Bagla. The DSJA
in a resolution paid rich tributes to Lala Amarnath and described him a legend and icon of his time. Lalaji infused new life in Indian cricket after
independence. The game in India owes lot to Lalaji. The journalist fraternity would miss him for his knowledgeable comments on the game, it said. Meanwhile, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa has expressed grief over the death of Lala Amarnath. In a message he said, “Lala Amarnath was a legend, who brought name and fame to Indian cricket. He was a true sportsman who played with dedication for the nation. In his death, Indian cricket has lost a guiding spirit.’’ Mr Dhindsa said Lala’s contribution would never be forgotten. He was a shrewd captain who led India to glory. |
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Nitish for genetic
modification of crops NEW DELHI, Aug 6 — The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Nitish Kumar, has favoured genetic modification of crops but said that the scientists should involve the community in the research. The Minister, who inaugurated the Advanced Centre for Plant Virology at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) here, said that there should be transparency about the whole process of genetic modification so that the people could give their feedback on the issues concerned. Welcoming the debate generated by the recently-announced agriculture policy, he said that the specific programmes would now be prepared to implement the policies. The continued growth of agricultural sector should not be at the cost of soil, plants and environment, he said. Calling upon the agriculture scientists to take measures to improve the quality of research throughout the country, he said that the inauguration of the plant virology centre would be a milestone for the country, he said. Mr Kumar said that the Green Revolution, which transformed the nation from a state of food deficiency to food surplus, was born in the fields of the IARI. Equipped with modern and ancillary facilities for molecular research, the virology centre would cater to the need of national research and education not only in virology but also in mycology, fungal pathology and plant bacteriology. The centre is supposed to provide crucial inputs for diagnosis of plant pathogens. Techniques would be useful in integrated management of plant diseases. In his remarks, Dr R.S. Paroda, Director-General, ICAR, said that India was projected to equal China’s population in the next 30-35 years. Mr Paroda called for changing agriculture policies and priorities relating to research and technology. Dr Panjab Singh, Director, IARI, said that the losses caused by virus and virus-like diseases can be minimised if appropriate preventive measures were taken. The centre for plant virology, he said, would go a long way in achieving this. In their remarks, Dr D.V. Singh, head of the Virology Division, and Prof Anupam Verma, said that the centre would render advanced training to the scientists and researchers of various institutes. The centre has been constructed by
IRCON. |
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Lawlessness in Siwan NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (PTI) — Close on the heels of the Supreme Court providing security to a businessman from Siwan, an application has been filed drawing the court’s attention to the general lawlessness in the district and the reign of terror allegedly unleashed by RJD MP Shahabuddin. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice V.N. Khare and Mr Justice S.N. Variava asked the Bihar Government to file its reply to the application filed by three advocates who have alleged that Mr Shahabuddin was “running a parallel administration in the district.” The advocates — Mr S. Chandrasekhar, Mr Vishnu Sharma and Mr Upendra Mishra — have sought impleadment in the case filed by industrialist Viren Pande alleging that he faced death threats from Mr Shahabuddin for his refusal to pay “rangdari tax” (extortion money) demanded by men of the MP. Counsel for Bihar B.B. Singh strongly opposed the intervention application and questioned the locus standi of the advocates in the case. When contacted, Mr Shahabuddin said these were all propaganda by his political rivals and claimed that he had been working for the development of his constituency. Earlier, the Bench had taken strong exception to the lone policeman provided to Mr Pande as security after the court had directed the DGP, Bihar, to provide special security to him. The court on July 31 again directed the police to give “effective security” to Mr Pande. The advocates said in their application that Mr Shahabuddin, against whom 24 criminal cases were pending, had been given a clean chit by “de-facto” Chief Minister of Bihar Laloo Prasad Yadav. “The people of Bihar have been living under terror of one kind or the other which criminals having full support of the administration and the police have unleashed and suffer almost like lambs under the butcher’s knife,” the applicants alleged. They said an advocate, Mr Raghubir Saran Varma, was pursuing a case against Mr Shahabuddin. He was first threatened to desist from pursuing the case and when he refused, he and his wife were killed, they alleged. The applicants requested the court to direct the state government to produce records showing the action taken in cases against Mr Shahabuddin. They also said the court should direct the transfer of all cases against Mr Shahabuddin to the CBI to ensure that action in accordance with the law, including arrest and detention, be taken against the RJD P for fair decisions in these cases. |
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HP asks Centre to
waive copter charges NEW DELHI, Aug 6 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has requested the Centre to waive IAF helicopter charges deployed in the flood-affected areas of the state. The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, made the state government’s request to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his meeting with him last night. Mr Dhumal disclosed that the Centre had specially permitted helicopters to carry inflammable
products like kerosene and diesel for the flood-affected areas by relaxing its norms. An amount of Rs 60 crore was required for bearing helicopter expenses per month for the transportation of 2,500 tonnes of essential commodities for nearly one lakh people who were cut off from the rest of the country, he said. Stating that Mr Vajpayee was moved when he was shown a video cassette of the devastation caused by the flash-floods in the state, Mr Dhumal said the Prime Minister had assured him of all possible assistance for the relief and rehabilitation work. He said the Centre would soon send a team to assess the loss caused by the floods. |
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‘BJP not to rake up
contentious issues’
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (PTI) — The new BJP President Bangaru Lakshman says the party will not rake up the three contentious issues of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, uniform civil code and Ram Temple at Ayodhya and keep them in abeyance as long as it leads the NDA coalition at the Centre and ruled out backtracking on economic reforms policies under pressure from the Sangh Parivar. “For the four years whatever we have agreed and put forth before the people in the 1999 elections and got the mandate, that shall be the agenda of the BJP. There is no question of those (contentious) issues being taken up now even though they are there on the BJP agenda,” Mr Lakshman told PTI in an interview. Referring specifically to Article 370, he said, “The question of its abrogation does not arise. If it is to be given up the, Constitution would have to be amended. It cannot be abrogated just by a resolution of Parliament as it would have to be ratified by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.” “At least the state Assembly would have to ratify it and that is not an easy thing for what it means is it involves preparing the people of the state to agree to do away with the special status and become like one of the other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. It is a long process, though the founding fathers of the Constitution had written that it would be a temporary phase and had to go sometime,” he said. On the uniform civil code, Mr Lakshman said, “It can be adopted only with the consent of all sections. These are issues which are debated time and again in the country.”. Asked about differences between the BJP and the Sangh Parivar over economic policies, he asserted that there was no going back on reforms and that his party would continue to pursue them not withstanding pressure from the Sangh Parivar. The BJP has its own commitments to the people. We cannot just wish away what was the verdict of the people”, he said adding, “The BJP will continue to pursue its programme and the Sangh will continue to ventilate its views.” He said it was the BJP which sought a mandate from the people and not the RSS or the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM). “They have not gone to the people. It is the BJP which has gone to the people and this is also known to the Sangh Parivar”. However, he said the views of the RSS and the SJM “are kept in mind while formulating policies and they are taken seriously and things which can be implemented within the broad framework of the policy, they are done so.” On the preparation for the assembly elections in some states due next year, he said an action plan would be chalked out to activate party units there. |
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Pak-backed outfit plans
mayhem in J-K
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (PTI) — Pakistan-backed newly formed umbrella mercenary group, Jaish-i-Mohammad, is reportedly forming ultra-secretive smaller five-member cells, mostly in northern Kashmir, to cause mayhem in urban areas, reports received here said. Patterned after the Lashkar-e-Toiba’s Fedayeen Group, the Jaish-i-Mohammad’s cells are being concentrated in the Hizbul Mujahideen-dominated areas of Sopore, Baramula, Kupwara, Handwara and Bandipora. The Jaish-i-Mohammad umbrella group is headed by Maulana Azhar Masood, who was one of the three militants released in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar. According to the reports, the groups are so secretive that one cell is not aware of the identity or the operations of the other cell. These groups have been formed to carry out rapid hit-and-run attacks. The Jaish-i-Mohammad group has been formed by remnants of the banned Harkat-ul-Ansar, who have merged with other groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-e-Jehad-Islami with the Pakistan Army reportedly loaning them some special service group commandos and ex-servicemen. The Pakistani Army through the Jaish-i-Mohammad is also trying to revive dreaded outfits like Al-Umar Mujahideen and Al-Fateh in Srinagar city. However, the other major mercenary group Lashkar-e-Toiba is staying aloof from the umbrella grouping. The reports said that the new umbrella grouping was getting hardly any response to its drive for local recruitment and these efforts were creating confusion in militant ranks. Stung by failure in its local cadre drive, the Jaish commanders have sent an SOS for infiltrating massed mercenaries across the LoC. According to Defence Ministry officials, there are approximately 3,000 mercenaries camping in various training camps and launch pads awaiting infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir. |
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NHRC urged to probe
‘repression’ in AP HYDERABAD, Aug 6 (PTI) — Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy today asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to conduct an independent inquiry into the “repressive methods” being employed by the state on agitators demanding roll back of power tariff hike. In a letter addressed to NHRC Chairman, a copy of which was released to the press here, Dr Reddy alleged that brutal force was being used against the leaders and cadre of opposition parties to repress the mounting public opinion against the hike. “I urge you to hold an independent inquiry inviting all opposition parties to air their views and direct the state government on its violation of human rights ever since agitation demanding roll back of hike started,” he said in the letter. APCC president M. Satyanarayana and Left parties’ leaders including CPM secretary B.V. Raghavulu were injured in the repressive methods resorted to by the state, Dr Reddy alleged. In the ongoing agitation, which started in May, there were lathi charges on 80 occasions in which over 2000 were seriously injured, 650 criminal cases were registered and over 5000 arrested, he alleged in the letter. Women activists were rudely handled by policemen in Kurnool during a demonstration at the Chief Minister’s meeting last month while Left party activists, injured in the lathi charge at Ongole, were handcuffed and chained to hospital beds, he alleged. |
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‘Impose Article
355 in Bengal’
CALCUTTA, Aug 6 (UNI) — West Bengal state’s BJP unit today demanded immediate imposition of Article 355 in the state to ensure a free, fair and peaceful Assembly election next year. Seeking the Centre’s direct intervention to deal with the alleged deteriorating law and order situation in the state, West Bengal BJP general secretary Paras Dutta in an open letter to Union Home Minister L.K. Advani yesterday, the copies of which were released to the press here, said since dacoity, murder, looting and incidents of theft had become a regular phenomenon in the state, people no longer depended on the police for maintaining law and order. “Everyday there are dozens of ghastly crimes, many of which were not even reported in the media,” Mr Dutta alleged and said, “unidentified dead bodies with multiple bullet and other injuries are recovered almost everyday in and around the city with police remaining largely ineffective.” Further alleging that the ruling CPM was perpetrating such violences, specially targeting the
minorities and other weaker sections after having realised that their support base had largely eroded among the general public, Mr Dutta said as a result the mere political violence in the state had escalated beyond all limits. “The BJP and the Trinamool Congress supporters were being attacked, killed and their houses ransacked and burnt and modesty of the women outraged,” he said and squarely blamed the leaders of the CPM for it. |
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Nirankari mission
member dead
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (PTI) — Mr P.L. Bajaj, a senior member of the Sant Nirankari Mission, died here on Friday, a mission’s press note said today. Mr Bajaj was 77. His body was consigned to flames yesterday. A special congregation of the mission to pay homage to the veteran missionary would he held at Nirankari Colony tomorrow, it said. |
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Rain
likely in J&K Himachal NEW DELHI, Aug 6 — Light rain has occurred at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh. Weather was mainly dry in the rest of the region. Forecast valid until the morning of August 8: Rain or thundershowers are likely at isolated places in Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, south east Rajasthan and east Uttar Pradesh. Weather will be mainly dry in the rest of the region. Forecast for Delhi and neighbourhood valid until the morning of August 8: Mainly clear sky with a possibility of thundery development in some areas. Farmers weather bulletin for Delhi: Forecast valid until the morning of August 8: Thunderclouds may develop at a few places. Outlook for the subsequent two days: No large change. |
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Centre must take over J&K security: VHP
AYODHYA, Aug 6 (UNI) — Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) working president Ashok Singhal today urged the Centre to take over the law and order machinery in Jammu and Kashmir. Talking to reporters here, Mr Singhal said by a complete change in the system, the Centre should take over the security arrangements in the terrorism-infested areas of the country such as Kashmir and the North-East. He said the Centre should not run away from its responsibilities by calling law and order a state matter. In reply to a question, he said the J and K Government should resign in view of the recent massacres in the state. |
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Protest against
massacre
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (PTI) — Activists of Shiromani Akali Dal (Master Tara Singh) today staged a demonstration in front of the Pakistan High Commission here to protest the
massacre of innocent people, including Amarnath pilgrims in the Kashmir valley by Pakistan-backed militants. Addressing the demonstrators, party president Jathedar Rachhpal Singh said Pakistan had been carrying on an anti-India campaign since its inception and last year’s defeat of its forces in Kargil had frustrated its military ruler. The killing of innocent people was a “barbarian” act and should be
condemned in the strongest terms, he said. |
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