Saturday, March 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India
 Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Godhra moves all-party team
Advani to file reply on Monday
Ahmedabad, March 8
It was a day MPs wished had not come. Grim-faced, the 25 MPs who came here today as part of the all-party delegation to Gujarat, saw the pain of the victims of violence in Ahmedabad. While the MPs could meet many of the injured in the hospitals, a few had to be brought on stretchers to meet them at relief camps.
In video (28k, 56k)

• Edit page: Gujarat riots and the Army

‘Build our village temple first’ (Edit page) Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition, consoles a riot victim in Ahmedabad on Friday. — Reuters photo

Curbs in Ayodhya to be eased
Efforts on to find venue for March 15 puja
Ayodhya, March 8
The written assurance given by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas (RJN) to await and abide by the court verdict about the disputed site has prompted the government to provide some relaxation on the movement of people into Ayodhya and find a “face saver” for allowing a symbolic puja of carved pillars here in a peaceful manner on March 15.
In video: Ayodhya faces shortage of essential commodities after authorities seal the town. (28k, 56k)

President’s rule in UP
New Delhi, March 8
Uttar Pradesh was today brought under Central rule and the newly constituted Assembly kept in suspended animation but it could be only for a short period in the wake of speculation that the BJP and the BSP could come together to form a government.

• Nation page: PM defends Governor’s decision

• Editorial: Mayawati's deft move

Pak amnesty for Islamic radicals
Islamabad, March 8
In a significant move, Pakistan has announced general amnesty for the arrested members of the five banned religious and political groups if they give an undertaking not to continue with their association with the militant groups.

Bush asks Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism
Washington, March 8
US President George W. Bush has emphatically asked Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to stop cross-border terrorism against India and create conditions for “meaningful dialogue between both the countries”, a senior US administrative official has said.

5 ultras shot dead near Vaishno Devi
Jammu, March 8
The security forces foiled a major plan of militants to sneak into the sensitive Katra mountain belt by killing five rebels today. State government functionaries said the militants had taken shelter in an abandoned mountain cave, over 1 km away from the ancient shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in the Katra forest belt.

• Jaish-e-Mohammad again active in Pak 
  J&K page
  

4 MLAs seek ‘adequate security’
Apprehend threat to life from Chautala, sons
Chandigarh, March 8
Four Haryana MLAs have urged the State Governor, Babu Parmanand, to provide them adequate security as they apprehended “physical elimination” at the hands of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, and his two sons, Ajay and Abhey.

Finance for Singla in due course: CM
Makha (Mansa), March 8
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today said Mr Surinder Singh, MLA from Bathinda, would be made Finance Minister in due course of time.

Two choppers crash in Japan