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Sunday,
December 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Do or die
for BJP in Gujarat Advani draws flak on Kashmir comments Maya to
hold ‘savdhan rally’ on December 11 600
detonators seized Confabulations
over PM’s Id Milan party Protect
cane farmers’ interests: Gowda |
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2 blast
victims lose sight
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Do or die for BJP in Gujarat Ahmedabad, December 7 It is via Gujarat that the BJP is hoping to emerge in a new ‘avatar’ for political survival elsewhere in the country. The party, which is heading a coalition government in New Delhi, sees this round of elections as its last chance to salvage its image and prestige. It also views the Gujarat elections as a critical opportunity before the next round of General Election in 2004 besides making a bid for a comeback in most of the states it has lost to the Congress which is now ruling 14 of the 28 states. A victory in Gujarat is being seen as the point from where the party can catapult itself as a major player in the rest of the country. BJP leaders, who have come from all over the country to campaign for Chief Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, admit privately that this the last chance the party has to pull itself back from the woods. A defeat in this state can spell doom for it as the leaders expect its repercussions all over the country. They feel that the entire country is watching what the party can do now despite all the allegations it has been facing of promoting ill feelings against a particular community. If the party is accepted, then it throws open a whole new era for the party to re-launch itself on the Hindutva plank once again. A minister in the previous BJP government in Uttar Pradesh travelling all the way from Allahabad under instructions from Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi felt that victory for the party in Gujarat would open doors for it to make inroads into the adjoining states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the Congress is holding the reigns of the government. The BJP feels that there is a strong anti-incumbency factor prevailing in these states which can be exploited only after Gujarat was back in their pocket. A victory in Gujarat will facilitate the party to reach out to those who are unhappy with the Congress’ performance in these states. Further, the BJP believes that if the Congress is able to upstage the party in Gujarat, it will have a major effect on the BJP’s performance in the 2004 General Election, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. Political analysts here emphasise that it is virtually a straight contest between the hardline Hindutva and Congress ‘secularism.’ While the BJP is contesting all 182 seats, the Congress is battling it out in 180, leaving one seat each for the CPI and the CPM. There are other parties like the Samajwadi Party, which is launching itself in a big way, and the NCP which is also in the fray. The SP and the NCP are not expected to make any worthwhile impression in Gujarat except making some inroads in the Congress’ vote bank. However, analysts feel that besides the Hindutva and the secularism planks, local issues are indeed coming to the fore. The Congress is depending heavily on these issues but so far has not been able to really get across to the people on these development issues. What is worrying the BJP more is the growing indication from various opinion polls that the party has a difficult task on its hands. And that is precisely the reason why the BJP is going the whole hog into these elections and flooding this western state with leaders from across the country and of all statures. |
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Advani draws flak on Kashmir comments
Patna, December 7 BPCC spokesperson Kripanath Pathak said here that it was due to the efforts of the Congress that Kashmir was an integral part of the country. He reminded Mr Advani of the contributions of senior Congress leaders in keeping Kashmir within India at the time of partition during Independence and suggested to him (Mr Advani) to accept the truth. Mr Pathak said it was ridiculous to hold the Congress responsible for the 1947 and 1971 events and maintained that it was the party which took the nation into a new era of development. He alleged that Mr Advani was issuing such statements only to reap political harvest in the Gujarat elections. He also hailed the decision of Lok Janshakti Party national president Ram Bilas Paswan and former Prime Minister V.P. Singh to join hands with the Congress in the election campaign in Gujarat and said that the step would further strengthen the secular forces.
UNI |
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Maya to hold ‘savdhan rally’ on December 11 Lucknow, December 7 And to make this rally a success, senior BSP leaders and ministers in the Mayawati-led government have been camping in Amethi for the past few days. The Khadi Development Minister and Mayawati’s trusted lieutenant Swami Prasad Maurya held a meeting of the party workers yesterday and asked them to ensure a good participation of BSP workers in the rally. “We are expecting a crowd of over 2 lakh in the rally,” Mr Maurya told this reporter. All block pramukhs and district presidents of the eastern districts of the state had been asked to “motivate” people to attend the rally, he said. “Through this rally Behanji (as Mayawati is addressed by party workers) wants to give a befitting reply to all those political parties who have a penchant to use Dalits as vote bank.” he said. The BSP rally will be held at Amethi and is likely to be addressed by Mr Kashi Ram, the national president of the party. In her recent visit to her mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Amethi, Ms Priyanka took up the cudgels on behalf of Rambhuj Kori, a resident of Punpur, whose house was demolished by Thakurs. Kori’s attempt to lodge an FIR against Thakurs proved futile. Mr Swami Prasad Maurya said Ms Mayawati would give befitting reply to the Congress’ political jugglery through December 11 rally. “She is likely to storm the Congress citadel”, he said. |
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600 detonators
seized Patna, December 7 The Railway police seized 600 detonators and 500 metres of fuse wire meant for supply to extremist groups at the Gaya railway station yesterday. The explosive material has the mark of a Hyderabad manufacturer and can be used to explode heavy explosives like the RDX and the TNT used in landmine blasts by ultras against cops in recent times. Earlier on Thursday, the Mukhiya of a village panchayat was arrested at Phulwaria village for supplying sophisticated and foreign arms to the People’s War Group (PWG). The Patna (Rural) SP, Mr Amit Kumar said, “The panchayat chief, Rajkishore Singh, had so far supplied 9mm pistols, police carbines, rifles and some foreign-made arms to the PWG.” A Andhra Pradesh police team had come here in search of the arms supplier after an arrested truck driver B. Bhadraiya had confessed to transporting arms under the garb of his fish trade. Last week, the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police busted a gang of illegal and sophisticated arms manufacturers supplying arms to the banned extremist organisations and private armies. |
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Confabulations
over PM’s Id Milan party New Delhi, December 7 The electoral reasons are obvious as the programme is sandwiched between Mr Vajpayee’s election visits to Gujarat today and on December 9. He addressed election rallies in Vadodara and Jamnagar today and is scheduled to visit Ahmedabad and Rajkot on December 9. Tomorrow’s programme obviously can be seen as a conscious attempt to send a signal to the minority community. The political significance of the Id Milan programme, according to political observers here, is also immense as it indicates the BJP making a conscious attempt to change its image which the party’s political rivals view as an exercise not different from a “tiger trying to change its stripes”. From the protocol point of view, tomorrow’s programme at 7, Race Course Road, assumes significance as all eyes will be on President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and only time will tell whether the President chooses to brush aside protocol for the second time in less than a month to visit Prime Minister’s house to attend a party. According to sources, there are about 250 select invitees from various spheres, besides Dr Kalam, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Speaker of Lok Sabha Manohar Joshi. |
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Protect
cane farmers’ interests: Gowda New Delhi, December 7 Speaking to newspersons here today, Mr Deve Gowda said the Centre should provide adequate protection to farmers as directed by the Supreme Court which held that sugar factories were obliged to pay the state advise price to the sugarcane growers. The former Prime Minister also charged the UP Government with “concealment and misrepresentation” of facts adding that this had enabled the sugar mills to deny paying the prices that were the legitimate due of the farmers. |
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2 blast victims lose sight
Mumbai, December 7 Doctors attending to the victims of the blast at the Nair Municipal Hospital, where most of the injured were admitted, said that Ishwarlal (40) and Banwarilal (38), have lost their eyesight as they received severe burn wounds on their face, particularly in the area around the eyes. Four others, who were reported critical after the blast, are out of danger and are responding to the treatment, the doctors added.
UNI |
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Ex-CJI concerned over PILs’ misuse
Bangalore, December 7 “There has to be accountability for all...for any person... any walk of life, judges included”, Justice Kirpal, who retired from the Supreme Court a few weeks ago, told reporters after attending a function here. Seeking to stay clear of any controversy, he avoided giving a direct reply to queries about the “Mysore sex scandal” and the alleged involvement of some judges and the Karnataka High Court initiating suo motu contempt proceedings against the media for publishing reports on it. “I have not read any of those. I think you have more coverage of those in the South than you have it in Delhi. I would not like to make any comment based on newspaper reports. I don’t know under what circumstances the court initiated the proceedings. I would not like to comment on something that’s sub-judice”, Justice Kirpal said. Earlier, addressing a National Law Reforms Round Table on law, economic reforms and liberalisation, organised at National Law School of India University, he said the PIL concept was started in the 1970s for protection of human rights and delivering justice to those unable to come to courts, seeking redressal. But it was unfortunate that the PIL was being misused. “In the last decade, there are hardly any infrastructure projects that have not been challenged in courts. And PILs are being filed by not those who were unsuccessful in securing tenders and projects”, he said.
PTI
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Kalam’s message
on martyrdom day New Delhi, December 7 |
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UNDP keen on IT development Dehra Dun, December 7 The Chief Minister told Mr Nicholas that the state government was promoting the IT sector so as to disseminate its benefits to the common man for enabling him to effectively face the challenges of the 21st century. Special programmes were also being run for the benefit of the downtrodden, he said. |
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Egyptian
envoy presents credential New Delhi, December 7 |
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