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Dead terrorists yet to be identified
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What was the role of driver? Cong obliquely criticises BJP
BJP calls for UP bandh
G-4 Foreign Ministers to meet in London
Use of Tricolour allowed on dresses, but not below the belt
Human trials of AIDS vaccine soon
Shot in the arm for Rane
16-year-old is
youngest postgraduate
9 held; huge arms cache seized
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A shot in the arm for BJP?
New Delhi, July 5 The attempts of an image makeover by Mr Advani during his recent visit to Pakistan will have to take a back seat even as the consolidation of Sangh Parivar appears to be on the cards primarily due to the concerns emanating from the calculated terrorist attack on the disputed Ram Janambhomi complex in the pilgrim centre in Uttar Pradesh. Highly placed BJP sources are quick to point out the studied silence of VHP’s Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia in steering clear of attacking Mr Advani in Surat where the RSS is pouring over its future strategy. This is viewed as highly significant as Mr Singhal and Mr Togadia have used every opportunity to berate former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr Advani. The fallout from the terrorist attack in Ayodhya and the RSS conclave has given indications of “greater cementing of bonds” in the Sangh Parivar. “Obviously the BJP cannot be jumping but it will be important to see how the party shapes up under its mascot of Hidutva in Mr Advani in the immediate to medium term. Importantly, certain functionaries of the UPA government are characterising the terrorist attack at Ayodhya as the alleged handiwork of the Sangh Parivar while UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav believes there can be a political angle to the violent incident in the holy town,” several leaders in the BJP argued. They contended that even though Hurriyat had condemned the attack, Pakistan and especially its President Gen Pervez Musharraf were maintaining a studied silence. If it is established that the terrorist attack at Ayodhya was the handiwork of Pakistan backed terrorists, then the Indo-Pak peace process is bound to come under strain leading to a discernible drop in the widening people-to-people contacts. In any case it is well known that the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan wants to derail the bilateral peace process. Asked if the terrorist attack at the sacred religious site can provide the direly needed political mileage to the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar in late October or in the first half of November, BJP sources insisted that Ayodhya would not be the bone of contention in the backward state of Lalu Prasad Yadav. “We will not afford any leverage to Mr Yadav except to bash on with the stark issue of misgovernance by the RJD for the last 15 years,” BJP sources including certain former union ministers observed. In this context they mentioned why Mr Yadav had constantly desired that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi campaign for the BJP in Bihar so that he could be arrested the moment he arrived in Bihar. But that was not to be. They dismissed as purely media speculation a quid-pro-quo with the Sangh Parivar that Mr Advani will quit as BJP president after the Bihar Assembly elections. “Mr Advani, who has singlehandedly rejuvenated the party in the last 15 years and is in the autumn of his political career, is not going to make his exit under a cloud. On the contrary Mr Advani will make his exit at the time of his calling,” the sources emphasised. The upbeat BJP leaders definitely visualise a turnaround in their political fortunes from this dastardly act in Ayodhya after the India Shining campaign during the general elections in April-May 2004 fell by the way side. They believe that with Maoists making their violence felt in Madhuban in Bihar, the law and order and security environment in the country is a major cause for worry. Coupled with that are the increasing extremist violence in various parts of the country. Ayodhya, in their opinion is a case of security considerations being thrown to the winds. The BJP has taken strong exception to appeals by the Union Home Minister Mr Shivraj Patil and Union Defence Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee, advising them to adopt a non-partisan approach in maintaining communal harmony and peace in the country. They hit back this evening by demanding the resignation of Mr Patil and exhorted the ministers in the UPA Government to discharge their responsibilities properly. The main Opposition party believes that the terrorist attack on Ayodhya was a fit case for exposing the UPA Government for not providing adequate security at the disputed area. On their part, the Left parties while condemning the terrorist attack at Ayodhya said it was meant to inflame communal passions and exhorted the people to unitedly foil all attempts to divide the country on communal lines. |
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Dead terrorists yet to be identified
New Delhi, July 5 Mr Mukherjee told mediapersons that the driver of the vehicle in which the terrorists arrived in Ayodhya had said they were not residents of the temple town. The
Defence Minister, who was briefing newspersons immediately after having
attended a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) — the
second today, appealed to everyone to frustrate the designs of the
terrorists by not politicising the incident. On whether there had
been a security lapse, the Minister said this could be ascertained only
after a thorough inquiry into the incident.
— UNI |
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What was the role of driver? Ayodhya, July 5 When driver-owner of the ill-fated Mahendra jeep, Rehan had agreed to take the six youths around the city for a “quick pilgrimage” for Rs 1,300 little did he know that he was in for trouble. They were no run of the mill passengers. Hidden in their blue airbag were sophisticated AK-47s hand grenades and ammunition. The men were on a suicidal mission to attack the makeshift temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Arrested by the police there are reportedly discrepancies in his statement bringing him in the net of suspicion. Coming to his defence are other taxi drivers at the city’s busy bus stand,” How do we know what our passengers have in mind”, said a driver from the Civil Lines taxi stand . Calling him a “sharif aadmi”, his colleague explained this to be the reason for his constantly shifting statements. “Only hardened criminals can withstand police questioning”, he said. Substantiating this was Champa Pandey an advocate from Ramkot mohalla. Claiming to be a neighbour, she informed that Rehan had not kept a driver and preferred to drive the vehicle himself. The driver has told the police that his passengers posing as devotees had hired his vehicle, telling him that they wanted to have darshan at the makeshift temple. According to the police, the terrorist hired the vehicle near the Faizabad bus stand. One of them came up to the driver to fix the deal. After that they put their airbags in the vehicle and asked him to move said the driver. The police, sharing the sequence of events recreated by the driver’s version, said the militants came to the petrol pump in a Sumo and switched over to his jeep. The driver claimed that when the driver of the Sumo objected to losing his passengers to him, he even parted a ‘token amount’ of Rs 70 to pacify him. The men first wanted to be taken to Saryu river after which they told him that they wanted to have darshan of the makeshift temple in Ayodhya, following which they wanted to be taken to Lucknow. According to the driver the militants had taken the route along the Rajghat, close to the river. They even knelt before a deity at a small temple on the way before asking to be taken to the the makeshift temple. |
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BJP calls for UP bandh
Ayodhya, July 5 Arriving in the temple city along with senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Tuesday evening, Mr Tripathi said that complicity of the Central Government could not be ruled out, as both were jointly responsible for the security of the sensitive area. Speaking to The Tribune, he said in recent months the state government had been regularly alerted regarding possible terrorist attack at Ayodhya. “It simply did not take any cognizance of such reports”, he charged. He said that suspicious characters having established linkages with terrorist outfits had been picked up from Ayodhya in 2002. “This is not an uncomplicated security lapse. It is a far more serious criminal act of refusing to take security threats seriously”, charged Mr Tripathi. Rejecting the allegation, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav declared that there had been no security lapse whatsoever. Home Secretary Alok Sinha also denied any intelligence failure. “No central intelligence on threat perception to the disputed site had been received” he asserted. Recently DGP Yashpal Singh after reviewing the security arrangement at Ayodhya had recommended the downscaling of forces posted there. However, terrorist struck even before a decision could be taken on the matter. The fortress-like barricading of Ram Janambhoomi complex is phenomenal and matches the high security at international borders. Besides the double barricades marking the inner and outer cordon, rolled barbed wires on top of the barricade and on the ground ensures entry by intruders next to impossible. At least 12-security towers manned by armed PAC men keep a bird’s eye view on the complex. |
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RSS conclave expresses concern
Surat, July 5 Emerging from the closed-door meeting, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav told
reporters the attack was “very unfortunate” and alleged that Hindu sacred
places were provided with “lax security”. However, with the shadow of
post-Godhra riots still looming large over the Sangh Parivar, he
appealed to the people to register their protest in a “peaceful manner
while ensuring law and order”. Regretting that the terrorists were
able to “easily enter” and commit “heinous crimes” in Hindu
sacred places, he said “the nation should rise like one man to condemn
the incident”. Emerging from the meeting, VHP firebrand leader
Praveen Togadia attributed it to “Pakistan, jehadi terrorism and
Muslim votebank politics”. Holding both UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi
and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responsible for the security of the
complex, which is in Centre’s possession, he demanded that India
discontinue the ongoing dialogue process with Pakistan and asked the
Indian Army to “crush Pak-sponsored terror”. Mr Togadia said policies like job reservation for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, budgetary provisions for madrasas and provisions for minorities in paramilitary forces and 50 per cent resrvation for Muslims in Aligarh Muslim University were encouraging Jehadis. He
said they were also getting encouragement by the keenness to protect the
perpetrators of the Godhra carnage. — PTI |
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It was suicide operation in Ayodhya
Lucknow, July 5 The manner in which the armed terrorists entered the 80-acre barricaded and heavily guarded complex clearly shows that it was an act of a suicide squad that wanted to blow up the makeshift temple that had come up on the debris of the razed Babri mosque. While the five militants were gunned down by the security forces, the body of the sixth was found near the blasted jeep behind the complex that is believed to have taken them to Ayodhya. This is how it happened, according to Faizabad District Magistrate Markanday Singh: the terrorists hired a Marshal jeep from Faizabad Tuesday morning posing as pilgrims seeking the blessings of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. When they reached Ayodhya, 135 km from here, they chose not to take the usual route and instead took a road running along the rear of the complex. Around 8.45 am, they stopped their vehicle close to the barricade, took their hidden AK 47 rifles and carbines and ignited an explosive device that not only blasted the vehicle to pieces but also broke open the steel barricading, thus offering them a passage inside the complex. While the driver of the vehicle managed to run for cover, one of their men died in the explosion. The security forces, which put up a pitched battle that went on for more than two hours, were initially taken by surprise. The five militants did manage to get quite close to the makeshift temple, but were finally isolated inside a neighbouring structure. “In
their apparent bid to blast the shrine, they also lobbed a grenade that
did not explode. After a two-hour-long encounter, each of them finally
fell to the police bullets,” Mr Markanday Singh said. He went on to
add: “Three live hand grenades were also seized from their possession
in addition to four AK 47 assault rifles, a carbine and a pistol.” The
elimination of all terrorists — as well as the arrest of the driver
— within two hours is being touted as a victory for the security
forces. “The fact that the terrorists were gunned down and no harm
was allowed to be caused to the shrine speaks of the success of the
security forces who deserve all the praise,” said Uttar Pradesh’s
Principal Home Secretary Alok Sinha. He denied that there had been any
reduction in the security at the disputed complex, despite last month’s
announcement by state police chief Yashpal Singh that there was need to
cut down on the security in Ayodhya. “If necessary, we may enhance
the security in Ayodhya,” he said. However, Union Minister of State
for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal, who happened to be in Lucknow,
categorically said that the attack indicated a “security lapse”. This
was strongly refuted by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav who said: “Had
there been any lapse, we would not have been able to contain and
eliminate the militants in record time.”
— IANS |
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Parties play politics
New Delhi, July 5 While the BJP called for a nationwide protest tomorrow, the BSP demanded dismissal of Uttar Pradesh government for security lapse. The Congress said it was not the time for emotional reaction or arousing communal sentiment and the Left parties appealed to the people not to fall prey to any rumour mongering and maintain peace and communal harmony. President
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said: “Terrorism in any form is to be condemned
outright and the nation should stand as one in fighting such militancy.” BJP
chief L.K. Advani, who has been in the forefront of the Ayodhya
movement, said: “Ram Janmabhoomi has been a very sacred place for the
people of the country and the reponse to the attack over it shall also
be equally fitting.” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delared his
government’s “determination and resolve” to deal firmly with all
such acts of terrorism which are a threat to India’s security and
polity and appealed to all polticial parties and leaders to help
maintain calm. VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore reacted angrily demanding that the Centre and UP governments quit as they had failed to provide adequate security in Ayodhya. RSS,
whose top brass is meeting in Surat, blamed “lax security” at Hindu
religious places, including Ayodhya, for the attack. CPM asked the
Centre to “order a thorough and transparent inquiry into the attack,
identify and bring to book those behind the attack, pinpoint any lapses
and to take necessary measures.” Muslim organisations condemned the
attack, apprehending that it was an attempt to destroy the atmosphere of
peace. Kamal Farooqui, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law
Board, said the attack should be condemned in all possible manner. “Some
political groups may be trying to use this attack to divert attention
from their internal problems. We appeal to the citizens not to get
swayed,” he said. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, president of the Islamic
Centre, said: “If people who indulge in violence think they will gain
by their action, then they are absolutely wrong.” |
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Cong obliquely criticises BJP New Delhi, July 5 Although it did not name the BJP in its written statement, it made a pointed reference to the fact that “the Congress never politicised such dastardly acts of terrorism”. It was clearly alluding to the BJP’s decision to stage country-wide protests on this issue and the Opposition leaders plans to visit Ayodhya at this juncture, steps which were being perceived as an attempt to whip up communal passions. It, therefore, appealed to the people to remain united and preserve the country’s secular ethos. Signed by AICC media department chairperson Ambika Soni and drafted after several rounds of discussions by senior party leaders with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the statement said the Congress had always extended full support to the previous government in its efforts in preserving peace and national security. Mrs Gandhi was also given a
detailed briefing about the incident by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In this connection, it pointed to the Congress party’s positive stand when terrorists attacked
Parliament and the J&K Assembly as well as the Akshardham and Raghu-nath temples. All these incidents took place during the NDA regime when BJP president L.K. Advani was the Home Minister. The statement said the Congress has always treated all such incidents as a threat to India’s secular fabric and acted in the country’s best interests. “The Congress resolves once again to carry on its relentless fight against terrorism,” the statement said. It also appreciated the courage displayed by the para-military forces which foiled the attack. Although the party’s written statement was circumspect, Mrs Soni was more forthcoming in her comments, stating that an attempt to politcise such incidents demoralises the security forces who had done a commendable job today. As for the BJP’s protest plans, she wondered “what they were protesting about and against whom”. “Are they protesting against the CRPF for foiling today’s attack,” she asked. Speaking in the same vein, party spokesperson Anand Sharma said it is most
unfortunate that the BJP president had joined the siblings in the extended Sangh parivar to play politics over today’s incident and fan communal passions. Referring to the BJP’s description of the Ayodhya incident as “an attack on Hinduism”, Mr Sharma said such remarks only betrayed the BJP leadership’s “communal mindset” and reminded the Opposition that such attacks took place during the NDA regime as well. |
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Security in Puri tightened
Puri, July 5 As many as 64 platoons of police, including six platoons of Rapid Action Force, have already been deployed in the city with Additional Director General of Police Amarananda Patnaik in overall charge of security arrangements, official sources said. In addition, 1,000 constables and 900 homeguards would be pressed into service.
— PTI |
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Grenade defused
Ayodhya, July 5 Police sources said the grenade was one of the three recovered after the two-hour encounter. ‘’It had to be defused as its safety pin was missing,’’ said a police official. The two other grenades were intact and in possession of bomb experts. The police had also recovered four AK-47 assault rifles and carbine from the slain terrorists.
— UNI |
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UP awards Rs 25 lakh to cops
Lucknow, July 5 Praising the security personnel, Mr Yadav said within 40 minutes the policemen controlled the situation which was ‘unprecedented.’’ Mr Yadav said he had talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to brief them about the incident and the follow up
action." They have agreed with my point and also appreciated the role of the security personnel in Ayodhya,’’ he added. Meanwhile, the CM would review the security arrangements at all religious spots in the state tomorrow with senior officials in the wake of Ayodhya attack.
— UNI |
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G-4 Foreign Ministers to meet in London
New Delhi, July 5 During the London meeting, the G-4 Foreign Ministers are going to review the efforts undertaken by them so far for advancing their candidature for permanent membership of the UNSC. When to table the Framework Resolution before the UN is the million-dollar
question that will be facing them during the London meet. While Japan and Germany are full-fledged members of G-8, India and Brazil are among the five countries that have been specially invited as observers to G-8. India declared its candidature for the UNSC permanent membership way back in 1994. In the past couple of years, India has stepped up its efforts for the UNSC campaign However, the Indian diplomatic efforts have been stepped up dramatically in the past one year and G-4 was formed to act as a force-multiplier. External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh has already participated in two rounds of the G-4 Foreign Ministers’ level consultations — the first in New York on September 24 last and the second in Brussels on June 22 this year. Mr Natwar Singh has been involved in hectic lobbying with a large number of heads of states/government and Foreign Ministers. Between June 2004 and July this year, he visited 26 countries to get support for the UNSC issue. In June 2004, at the third meeting of Foreign Ministers of Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) at Qingdao, China, Mr Natwar Singh raised the issue with the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Oman, Myanmar, Singapore and Kazakhstan. In the same month, Mr Natwar Singh discussed the matter with his British counterpart Jack Straw and then with his counterparts of New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Mongolia, Australia and the US at the 47th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting at Jakarta. |
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Use of Tricolour allowed on dresses, but not below the belt
New Delhi, July 5 However, “using the National Flag on any undergarment or any dress, costume, uniform or accessory worn below the waist or embroidering or printing it on cushions, gloves, handkerchiefs, napkins or any dress material”, will not be allowed. The government had constituted a National Flag Committee in October, 2000, to examine various issues relating to the use/display of the National Flag including the extent to which unrestricted/liberal use of the National Flag by members of the public could be permitted. The report of the committee was considered by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the matter was placed before the Cabinet for accepting the recommendations made by the committee with certain modifications. On acceptance of the proposals by the Cabinet, a new “Flag Code of India-2002” was finalised and brought into effect from 26th January, 2002, superseding the earlier ‘Flag Code-India’. The most notable feature of the Flag Code of India, 2002 was that it withdrew all restrictions on the display of the National Flag by members of general public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc, except to the extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (amended in 2003) and any other law enacted on the subject. The Cabinet, while approving liberalisation in the use/display of the National Flag by members of public, had inter-alia decided that “in due course, amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 may be considered with a view to making the penalty for deliberate insult to National Flag for second and subsequent offence more stringent and defining the ‘insult’ at greater length by including serious disrespect to the Flag such as use of Flag on costumes, etc, within the purview of ‘insults’ ”. In pursuance of the decision of the Cabinet, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was amended on May 8, 2003, by the Prevention to Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2003. In terms of the amendment, ‘disrespect’ to the National Flag was made a punishable offence (along with ‘insults’ to the National Flag). An inclusive definition of disrespect was added to the Act. The Cabinet approved the proposal to withdraw the restriction to use National Flag on costumes, dress material etc with certain safeguards like that the National Flag would not be used on undergarments and dresses or accessories worn below the waist. |
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Human trials of AIDS vaccine soon
New Delhi, July 5 The vaccine, Modified Vaccina Ankara (MVA), has been developed under a partnership involving the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Mr Ramadoss said that India had to respond to three main communicable diseases-HIV AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. “The developed world does not have a problem of TB or malaria. The prevalence of HIV AIDS in the developed world has come down with awareness. They are not taking any interest and are not going to help out. It is we who have to do the research. The government will increase investment on research for developing vaccines for HIV, TB and malaria.” The Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr N.K. Ganguly told mediapersons that the MVA vaccine had six HIV genes to generate an immuno-response against the deadly virus. “We have great hope from this vaccine.” Dr Ganguly said that the vaccine would be produced by US-based Therion Biologics Corporation. Scientists from the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata had made contribution in isolating viral genes,” he said. India began clinical trials of the first anti-AIDS vaccine, Adeno
Associated Vaccine (AAV) in February this year. “So far, there has not been any problem. Two doses have been given and the third dose would be administered next month,” Ramadoss said. |
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Shot in the arm for Rane Mumbai, July
5 Kupekar told reporters late this
evening that he had recognized Nimhan as the Whip of the Shiv Sena in
place of Gajanan Kirtikar who was sacked by Narayan Rane yesterday.
Stunned MLAs from the Uddhav Thackeray camp were locked with legal
advisors at the time of going to the press. With Rane threatening to
take over the reins of the Shiv Sena legislative party, party supremo
Bal Thackeray has convened a meeting of all party MLAs tomorrow to elect
a new leader in the house. The notice convening the meeting has been
issued by Kirtikar. Rane has, however, called Kirtikar’s meeting
illegal since he was no longer the whip with powers to summon party
MLAs. Nimhan, at the behest of Rane, has summoned the Shiv Sena
legislative party on Friday. “We have sent letters to all legislators
yesterday itself. It is a three-line whip, asking them to attend the
meeting. Those who fail to comply may end up losing their Assembly
membership,” Rane told reporters after Kupekar recognised Nimhan as
the party chief whip. |
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16-year-old is
youngest postgraduate
Jaipur, July 5 The communication
said Aarti’s achievement would feature in the 2006 edition of the book
of records, they said. She also holds the record of being the youngest
graduate in the country at the age of 14, they said adding the results
of her M. Sc examination had been declared on June 29. — PTI |
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9 held; huge arms cache seized
Ahmedabad, July 5 |
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