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Tiranga Yatra ends amid commotion
Amritsar, September 25 Ms Bharti, who was in an upbeat mood after the culmination of the yatra, was repeatedly described as the incarnation of Durga Mata and Rani Jhansi from the stage . As soon as she rose to address the gathering in the presence of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, SAD President Parkash Singh Badal and a galaxy of Akali and BJP leaders, some women activists of the SAD (Amritsar) showed black flags, causing a flutter in the rally . The police had a tough time controlling angry BJP workers who pounced on the women who were raising slogans like ‘Uma Bharti murdabad’ and ‘Uma Bharti vapas jao’. Earlier, activists of the SAD(A), led by Mr Gurjatinder Singh Bhikhiwind and Bhai Ram Singh, both general secretaries and activists of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, led by Mr Mukhtiyar Singh, showed black flags to the yatra. The police had to physically drag them to clear the way for the cavalcade of Ms Bharti. A large number of Akali leaders led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal not only welcomed the yatra, but also strongly criticized SAD(A) for greeting Ms Bharti with black flags. Spewing venom against the Punjab Chief Minister for encouraging the SAD(A) to show black flags, Ms Bharti urged Mr Badal to file corruption cases against him after the formation of the SAD-BJP government in the state. She said the BJP would continue to fight for the pride and honour of the Tricolour. She described the showing of black flags to the national flag as a heinous crime and an anti-national act .She alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister and the DGP of the state could not escape the responsibility for the “shameful act”. Using harsh language, she said engineering protests had smeared “Kaalakh” on the face of the Congress. She said protests were arranged by Capt Amarinder Singh to please Ms Sonia Gandhi. The significance of the three colours given by Ms Bharti seems to have embarrassed Mr Badal who was also sitting on the dais. She said while saffron of the Tricolour denoted the nuclear explosion at Pokhran, white denoted the historic visit of Mr Vajpayee to Lahore in 1999. Green was symbolic of the initiative taken by the NDA to link all rivers of the country. Addressing the rally, Mr Vajpayee said that the yatra was not launched to take political mileage or win any election. He said it was an endeavour to restore the honour of the Tricolor. Taking exception to the protests by the SAD(A), he said the act was unfortunate.Mr Vajpayee said Indian soldiers had been drawing strength from the Tiranga whenever they fought against the enemy. He said Tiranga was a symbol of national pride. Ms Bharti had to step down as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh to restore the honour of the flag, which was not a small sacrifice, he said. Showering praises on Punjabis, Mr Vajpayee said the holy city of Amritsar had been a source of spirituality. He said Amritsar was the city from where a movement for the reconstruction of “New India” was being launched today. Expressing concern over the showing of black flags by the SAD (Amritsar), Mr Badal said such acts would mar the prospects of the Congress and rival Akali factions, especially during the forthcoming byelections. He alleged that the Congress wanted to rule the country by dividing people. Mr Badal said that his party would continue to fight for maintaining peace in the state. Visibly upset over the protests by the SAD(A), Mr Arun Jaitly, national general secretary of the BJP used derogatory language against its president, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, and described him as “Shikhandi”. The BJP leaders while appreciating the Left parties for dubbing Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia “agent of the World Bank” said the Left leaders would also raise their voice to oust Ms Sonia Gandhi as the chairperson of the UPA on the basis of her foreign origin.  |
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