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Tuesday,
April 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Modi issue rocks Parliament New Delhi, April 15 The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, which met for the second half of the Budget session after a three-week recess, were plunged into a turmoil from the very start as agitated sloganeering Opposition members stormed the well, shouting “Modi hatao, desh bachao” (remove Modi, save the nation). In the Lok Sabha, Opposition members led by the Congress demanded suspension of Question Hour and immediate discussion on notices by 56 members for an adjournment motion on the Modi issue. As sloganeering continued, ruling NDA members, particularly BJP members from Gujarat, moved to the front benches to counter the Opposition onslaught. Repeated pleas by Deputy Speaker P.M. Sayeed to restore order in the House failed to pacify the angry members. Members from the Congress, the RJD, the Samajwadi Party, the Muslim League and others trooped into the well, forcing Mr Sayeed to adjourn the House for three hours. When it resumed at 2 pm, Opposition members trooped into the well and in the melee, papers were tabled. As the din continued, Mr Sayeed adjourned the House for the day. “Modi is guilty and he should be sacked”, the Opposition MP shouted in unison. TDP Parliamentary Party Leader K. Yerran Naidu, who sought permission to make a statement, said the House should discuss the Gujarat situation in the interests of the nation. Significantly, after the House was adjourned ahead of the lunch recess, Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi was seen walking up to SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was seated in the front row along with CPI-M veteran Somnath Chatterjee, apparently to chalk out a joint Opposition strategy on the Gujarat issue. In the Rajya Sabha, the TDP again joined the Opposition chorus for the removal of Modi in the wake of the communal violence that has rocked several parts of the state. After 38 new members, including RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav took oath, there were uproarious scenes, forcing Chairman Krishan Kant to first adjourn the House for 10 minutes. When the House met at noon, the scene was no different with the Opposition sticking to its demand. After the listed papers were tabled in the din, Mr Kant, who first sternly asked the Opposition not to raise slogans, then adjourned the House for the day as the commotion continued. 
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SC admits PIL on Gujarat New Delhi, April 15 The petitioner also said the special investigation team constituted should be directed to invite public complaints for the purposes of registering first information reports (FIRs). A three-judge Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice S.P. Bharucha, Mr Justice Shivaraj V. Patil and Mr Justice H.K. Sema also issued notices on the petition to the Centre, the Gujarat Government, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the BJP and others. The Bench directed the listing of the petition soon after the serving of notices and receipt of responses. The petitioners alleged that the state government had failed to contain the communal riots which claimed more than 800 lives and destroyed property worth several crores of rupees. Senior counsel P. Chidambaram, appearing for the petitioners, insisted on the implementation of the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) report on the Gujarat situation. It was also necessary that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigate certain cases in view of the NHRC’s indictment of the state government, he added. Referring to the NHRC report, Mr Chidambaram contended that the state police had acted in a partisan manner. He said that FIRs were wrongly recorded and poorly drafted, leaving escape routes for the alleged perpetrators of the crimes. He said the appointment of a special court to try the offences on a day-to-day basis, as suggested by the NHRC, was required. Mr Chidambaram also sought the apex court’s direction for the implementation of all recommendations of the NHRC to bring back normalcy in the riot-hit state. However, a response was awaited from Centre, which along with the state government was asked to respond to the NHRC’s comments and recommendations within 15 days.
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UK envoys did visit Gujarat New Delhi, April 15 “We neither confirm nor deny the details of the report which appeared in an English newspaper,’’ a British High Commission official said. He said, “It is an internal document which is not for public consumption.’’ It was a normal procedure for diplomatic missions to send their teams to different parts of the country. Meanwhile, the government declined to comment on the
news report, which stated that the British High Commission had informed its foreign office in London that the continuing violence in Gujarat was aimed at removing the Muslim influence from the state. “We don’t comment on such individual reports,’’ an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told reporters here. He said a clarification in this regard could only be given by the British High Commission. Meanwhile, a report from Ahmedabad said one person was injured as the police opened fire at an unruly mob in the Idgah Chowky area this morning as communal violence continued unabated in the city, while indefinite curfew in Dariapur and Danilimda police stations areas continued. Tension gripped the area after an incident of stone pelting and the police had to fire shots to scare away the mob. Additional police force has been rushed to the spot, sources said, adding that the injured has been admitted to a local hospital. Incidents of stone-pelting and setting afire of shops were also reported from Delhi Chakla area of the city, the police said. However, other parts of the city remained peaceful. At least three persons were killed and four others injured when the police opened fire to contain violence in Dariapur area of walled city yesterday. The police opened fire at Badelikho in the curfew-bound area of Bharuch city last night to quell a mob indulging in arson and stone-pelting. Fresh violence broke out in this sensitive locality forcing the police to open fire to contain members of the two warring communities. The mob had set ablaze some huts and shops in the area and indulged in stone-pelting. Fourteen rioters were arrested on the spot. The police denied any injury due to the firing.
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