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Tuesday,
March 18, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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VHP
condemns Togadia’s arrest
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Give up
claim, VHP tells Muslims Bandh
evokes poor response
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Widespread
violence during LDF march SC sets
aside RJD candidate’s election Rebels
hold the key in Jharkhand
GOC
(Delhi Area) takes charge PM,
Advani to address rally on March 29
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VHP condemns Togadia’s arrest New Delhi, March 17 Mr Togadia was later taken into preventive custody by the Penugonda police on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border while he was proceeding to Anantapur from Bangalore to address a public meeting organised by the VHP. “The arrest is appalling because the Hyderabad High Court has permitted Mr Togadia to address religious meetings in the state,” senior VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore told newspersons here. Holding out a warning that the Hindu community would resist, all such moves “with a crusading spirit”, Acharya Kishore said Mr Togadia’s arrest was “an unconstitutional and irresponsible act, which has exposed the anti-Hindu stance” of the Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh. Last night, another senior VHP leader, Acharya Dharmendra, was arrested at the Ujjain railway station on charges of instigating religious sentiments. The Acharya was arrested by a police team while he was on board a Jaipur-Chennai train. Meanwhile, several activists of the Bajrang Dal today resorted to violence during a demonstration at Andhra Pradesh Bhavan here to protest against the arrest Mr Togadia in Andhra Pradesh. The activists turned violent and smashed two cars and two flower pots in the bhavan and fled from the area. The Bajrang Dal Delhi unit chief Tapan Kumar, who led the protest, claimed that the activists of his organisation were not involved. The crowd of around 50 persons went on a rampage breaking the main gate of the complex and smashing the cars parked inside the premises, the police said. |
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Give up claim, VHP tells Muslims Ayodhya, March 17 Claiming there was no fraternity left between Hindus and Muslims in the country, Mr Singhal also vowed to demolish secularism and asserted “intolerant Islam was totally unacceptable and it could lead to another Mahabharata war”. “The excavation will take a long time. Then the matter will go to the Supreme Court and it would be improper to suppress Hindu sentiments till then,” Mr Singhal, who is here to “know more about the excavation”, told reporters. The land should be returned to the Hindu society on the basis of the evidence brought out by historian B.B. Lal and the recent findings of ground-penetrating radar survey, he demanded. Mr Singhal also appealed to the Sunni Central Waqf Board to give up its claim in court on the disputed site to “improve Hindu-Muslim relations” which, he claimed had touched their nadir. “But if the Muslims insist it will not be good. Lord Krishna had sought only five houses for the Pandavas and the Kauravas refused leading to the Mahabharata war. In Mahabharata you never know what will happen,” Mr Singhal said. Declaring that no dharam sansad would be held till the land is obtained, Mr Singhal said the VHP’s week-long satyagraha in Delhi, beginning March 27, was aimed at mounting pressure for a parliamentary legislation to facilitate the construction of Ram temple. “We need the entire 67 acres to build Gopuram on all four directions,” he said and threatened to continue with the agitation till its objectives are met. Claiming that there is total polarisation in the country “as is evident from the cricket euphoria” and the myth of Hindu-Muslim fraternity has been shattered, Mr Singhal said Hindutva was on the “upsurge and only a tolerant Islam where Muslim celebrate Holi and Ram Navami and Hindus join in the Eid has a future in India.” He, however, blamed politicians for creating a rift between the two communities. Taking exception to the arrest of VHP leader Acharya Dharmendra in Madhya Pradesh and restrictions on the entry of VHP leaders in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Mr Singhal warned “any attempt to impose the concept of Hindu-Muslim fraternity vis-a-vis Hindutva will backfire and such governments will
be brought to their sense.” PTI |
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‘It’s unwarranted’ Ayodhya, March 17 |
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Bandh evokes poor response Bhopal, March 17 In the district headquarters of Dewas, the effect of the ‘bandh’ was minimal, while in Bhopal 35 VHP workers were arrested when they tried to enforce the ‘bandh’. The administration has clamped Section 144 in Dewas as a precautionary measure and companies of the Rapid Action Force have been posted at various places. The Superintendent of Police, Bhopal, said the situation in the city was under control. It may be mentioned that Acharya Dharmendra was arrested last night at the Ujjain railway station on charges of instigating religious sentiments. The Acharya was arrested by a police team while he was on board a Jaipur-Chennai train. He was later presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Dewas, who offered to release him on bail, to which the Acharya refused. He was sent to judicial custody.
UNI |
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Widespread
violence during LDF march Thiruvananthapuram, March 17 The march had been organised to demand judicial probe into last month’s police action on agitating tribals of Muthanga in Wayanad district. The police said they fired rubber bullets in Kannur as the marchers went on the rampage clashing with the police, pelting stones and setting vehicles ablaze. In the state capital, a car belonging to the Tourism Department was torched by the protesters marching to the Director-General of Police’s office, while a motor cycle was set on fire in Kannur where many marchers and 20 police personnel were injured. In Kozhikode, the police lathi-charged marchers who pelted stones at them. The protesters attacked the police, pelted stones at shops and assaulted mediapersons in Kollam and Palakkad. Those injured in Palakkad included CPM leader and former Minister Sivadas Menon. Reports of violence had also come in from Wayanad, Alapuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam. CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan addressed the marchers in the state capital, while CPI leader and former Chief Minister P.K. Vasudevan Nair inaugurated the march in Ernakulam. A Kannur report said several persons were injured in police lathi charge as the march turned violent. The injured included some journalists. A report said a motor cycle was set ablaze in nearby Thele. A Kozhikode report said about 100 persons, including 30 police personnel, were injured in the violent incidents. The agitators waylaid and attacked the car of Kerala Film Development Corporation (KFDC) Chairman P.V. Gangadharan, they said. Gangadharan, who was injured in the incident, had been hospitalised. Several vehicles were also set on fire in many parts of the district, they said.
PTI |
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SC sets aside RJD candidate’s election New Delhi, March 17 The court set aside his election on the ground that he won the election by a narrow margin of 25 votes when 90 votes polled in favour of his immediate rival had been wrongly rejected. A bench of Mr Justice R. C. Lahoti and Mr Justice Brijesh Kumar thereby allowed an election appeal, filed by BJP nominee Hari Shankar Prasad. The Patna High Court had dismissed the election petition of the appellant ignoring his plea that 90 votes caste in his favour had been wrongly rejected. The Supreme Court in its judgement noted that the order of the returning officer, rejecting 90 ballot papers in favour of the appellant, marked by the stamp of ‘distinguishing mark’ used by the polling officer while issuing the ballot papers and not by the stamp, meant voting was against the instructions and orders of the election commission dated February 26, 2000. The instructions and orders required the returning officer to inquire into the fact if the presiding officer or the polling staff had by mistake supplied the distinguishing mark stamp to the voters. If that was the case, the ballot papers should not have been rejected. The apex court, therefore, allowed the appeal, setting aside the declaration of the respondent as elected and declared the appellant as elected.
UNI |
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Rebels hold the key in Jharkhand Ranchi, March 17 Following the resignation of Mr Marandi today, the four rebels—Mr Lalchand Mahato (Janata Dal-U), Mr Madhu Singh, Mr Jaleshwar Mahato and Mr Ramesh Singh Munda (all Samata)— were the most sought after members of the Assembly by both the BJP-led NDA alliance and the United Opposition, which had staked claim to form an alternative government in the state. The rebels were approached by senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh in the early hours today for the requisite support to the NDA government in the state. They were asked to return to the NDA as their demand for the Chief Minister’s resignation had been fulfilled. Their support was crucial for the BJP-led NDA government for continuing in power. The BJP leaders discussed about the prospective candidates, who were to be projected by the ruling regime as Mr Marandi’s replacement. In the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly having an effective strength of 79, the ruling BJP-led NDA has at present 36 members, while the Opposition camp has 42.
UNI |
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$ 10 million credit for Suriname New Delhi, March 17 India also agreed to double the quota of scholarships from 15 to 30 to Suriname and waived all ‘’pending payments due to New Delhi by Suriname against the first credit line of Rs 50 million extended in 1992’’, a joint statement issued at the end of Surinamese President R.R. Venetiaan’s visit said. Mr Venetiaan held wide ranging talks with Indian leaders including President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, during which he extended full support to India’s candidature for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council. The $ 10 million credit will be provided by the EXIM Bank of India. The Indian side also decided to give $ 100,000 worth medicines, while agreeing to share expertise with Suriname in the hospital management service.
UNI |
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GOC (Delhi Area)
takes charge New Delhi, March 17 A graduate of Defence Services Staff College Wellington and College of Defence Management, he has held varied staff and instructional appointments. He took part in the Bangladesh operations and counter insurgency operations in Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir. Major Gen Thomas Mathew commanded a Mountain Brigade in the Eastern Sector and thereafter was the Indian Military Attache in France. He commanded an Infantry Division of the Strike Corps during OP Parakram. |
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PM, Advani to address rally on March 29 New Delhi, March 17 BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told newspersons that the “massive rally to mark five years of the NDA government at the Centre will also be addressed by NDA convener George Fernandes and BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu.” He said the BJP would commemorate April 6 as ‘day of achievement’ with countrywide programmes to be addressed by party
leaders. |
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Holi greetings New Delhi, March 17 |
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