M A I N   N E W S

Black flags greet Prime Minister
55 YC activists hurt in lathi charge

Mumbai, April 8
Fiftyfive Youth Congress workers were injured, five seriously, when the police lathi-charged them while they were trying to break a barricade and stage a rasta roko after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s motorcade passed through Kherwadi here today.

Activists of the Mumbai Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC), the Nationalist Youth Congress Party and the Republican Party greeted Mr Vajpayee with black flags at various places during his day-long visit to the metropolis demanding the resignation of his government in the wake of tehelka expose, the police said.

They said the police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse MPYC activists when they tried to break the barricade at Kherwadi, adding the seriously injured were hospitalised.

MPYC president Charan Singh Sapra alleged that the police lathi-charged the peaceful demonstrators.

Black flag demonstration was also held outside Shanmukhanand in central Mumbai where Mr Vajpayee attended a function to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti.

The police was deployed in large numbers all along the road from the airport to Shanmukhanand hall where Mr Vajpayee addressed a function on the occasion of the 2600th birth anniversary celebrations of Vardhamana Mahavira.

Addressing the gathering the Prime Minister said the Jain teacher’s concept of “Aparigraha” (not to accumulate wealth more than required) was relevant even today as it was the only way to remove the malice of corruption.

“The poor and hungry do not indulge in corruption but those who already have their stomachs full indulge in such practices, abusing their system (body),” Mr Vajpayee said.

He said Lord Mahavira’s message of non-violence (ahimsa) should be spread to the entire world as its necessity was being felt with the changing times because the world was sitting on a pile of nuclear weapons, capable of destroying the world many times over.

He also emphasised that non-violence as preached by Lord Mahavira centuries ago did not spring from any “weakness” or “cowardice”.

The concept of multipolar world, which was being hailed today had its roots in the teachings of Lord Mahavira, who propounded “Anekatavat” (plurality), he said.

Noted singer and composer Ravindra Jain and former Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Dr L.M. Singhvi were among those felicitated by Jain Ratna Puraskar by Mr Vajpayee.

Dr Singhvi also presented a copy of the constitution of the newly-formed World Jain Confederation to the Prime Minister. Ravindra Jain rendered a poem in honour of Mr Vajpayee, who is also a poet. A total of 26 persons were felicitated with the Jain Ratna Puraskar. PTI