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Monday,
March 31, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Sikhs march to Parliament on Bhullar issue
Ayodhya verdict today |
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AYODHYA ISSUE ‘Place J&K under Governor’s rule’
Combat Islamic terrorism: Thackeray CPM rejects SUCI boycott call Mufti meets Advani today SP vows to restore Hardwar to UP Humiliated by SFI activists, VC quits 2 scribes held for blackmail
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Sikhs march to Parliament on Bhullar issue New Delhi, March 30 Carrying placards and banners, the gathering pleaded for mercy for Bhullar, who they proclaimed was a ‘victim’ of a fractured Supreme Court judgement. Among those present were senior leaders from both the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Sarb-Hind Shiromani Akali Dal of Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former chief of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Earlier, Mr Badal and Mr Tohra had met the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, with a plea to reconsider the death sentence. The move was also seen as a potential sign for their early patch-up ahead of Lok Sabha elections next year. Mr Tohra’s close lieutenant and his party’s General Secretary, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra addressed the participants in the march and said that the Panth (Sikh community) should unite over common causes. SAD was represented in the march by Delhi unit chief Avtar Singh Hit and corporator Onkar Singh Thapar. Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Gatka Master, vice-president of the DSGMC, was also present. Among the participants were several farmer organisations and human rights groups. The march was held under the auspices of the Prof Davinderpal Singh Bhullar Defence Committee, an umbrella organisation of different political and social groupings. A memorandum signed by 28 groups, including SAD and the SHSAD, was also submitted to the President, seeking clemency for Bhullar. The memorandum read that Bhullar had been convicted of a conspiracy based solely on a confession extracted under torture and repudiated by him. However, his alleged co-conspirator Daya Singh Lahoria had been found not guilty. |
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Ayodhya verdict today New Delhi, March 30 The order is important because of persistent demands by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for handing over 67.70 acres of “undisputed land” to it or to a trust for constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya. This land lies adjacent to the spot where the Babri mosque stood till, which was razed on December 6, 1992. A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Justices S. Rajendra Babu, S.S.M. Quadri, M.B. Shah, Santosh N. Hegde and Doraiswamy Raju, had on March 6 reserved their judgment on the government’s plea. In March last year, a three-judge Bench had ordered the status quo in Ayodhya, banning all religious activities on the 2.77 acres of disputed land and on the undisputed area. That order was passed on a public suit filed by Mohammad Aslam, alias Bhure, the oldest litigant in the dispute, urging that both plots be handed over to the Army till the Allahabad High Court ruled on who owned the land. Earlier this year, the Centre filed an application contending that the 2002 order was contrary to a verdict the court had delivered in 1994 and should be reversed. The government argued that the 1994 order permitted it to give back the undisputed plot once it determined the area required for giving access to the disputed site. Aslam, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board and the All-India Sunni Wakf Board had maintained that the status quo should continue on both plots since there was no justification to alter this after nine years. IANS |
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AYODHYA ISSUE New Delhi, March 30 “We have the power to change the government if it does not hand over the undisputed land to us and bring in a legislation in the Parliament to pave way for the construction of the temple,” VHP leader Ashok Singhal said after leading the VHP’s court arrest programme on the fourth day of their week-long “satyagraha” in the capital. Asked what was the present attitude of the government on the issue, Mr Singhal said the government attitude would depend on the kind of force and pressure it was subjected to. “We are going in for a big show of strength this time,” he said. He said the VHP would approach the MPs of all political parties to seek their support on the temple issue. Mr Singhal claimed that over 30,000 activists, including senior VHP leaders courted arrest today. |
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‘Place J&K under Governor’s rule’ Bhopal, March 30 “Governor’s rule must also be imposed on that state and Punjab’s former Director-General of Police K.P.S. Gill should be made the Governor. This kind of steps are essential for controlling militancy in Kashmir,” he said in a discussion with the Press here. Mr Bitta said he would soon meet the President in this regard. Criticising attempts to revoke the death sentence on Devender Pal Singh he said, “When the Supreme Court has handed down the sentence, it must be carried out.”
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Combat Islamic terrorism: Thackeray Mumbai, March 30 “‘We all have to be together and not talk in terms of Marathi, Gujarati or Bengali...but as Hindus. And we will all have to fight Islamic terrorism,” the firebrand leader said after addressing the first-ever convention of the state chiefs of the party. “The country is passing though a critical phase. We are like orphans and we have no clear leader”, Mr Thackeray told a news conference at the end of the convention held at the Rangsharda auditorium at Bandra here. The sena chief cited the recent spate of blasts in Mumbai, the Akshardham incident and the attack on Kashmiri Pandits as examples of “Islamic terrorism”. He complimented the Mumbai police which had yesterday gunned down three terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba believed to be involved in the recent blasts. Mr Thackeray, known for his clear views, when asked how he differentiates his Hindutva with that of the BJP, said, “Whatever I say I say it at a point-blank range and I don’t mince words.” Mr Thackeray said, “Whenever there is anything in India, we suspect the hand of Pakistan, ISI or SIMI”. “Where were your hands,” he lamented. “We give guns to our jawans and tell them to fight. But where are the bullets. What is the use of a gun without the bullets,” the sena chief questioned. The sena supremo, when asked whether he will take up the issue of Maharashtrians or Hindus in the next elections, said, “Everybody knows I don’t play lottery or gamble for the elections. We are all Hindus and we will have to fight together the Islamic terrorism,” he added. Mr Thackeray also said the elections should not be treated as the barometer (of performance of a political party). He said in the initial days the Jana Sangh or for that matter the BJP candidates had lost their deposits. ‘’But today they are in power,’’ he said. About Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s recent criticism of the BJP and the NDA government, the sena chief said, “I cannot speak on behalf of the BJP.’’ he added. Asked whether the Shiv Sena will tieup with the BJP in Maharashtra or elsewhere in the ensuing elections, he said, “Our association is 16 to 17 years old. But first comes Hindutva and then the elections.’’ Asked about the proposed ‘Shiv Shakti-Bhim Shakti’ alliance, Mr Thackeray said his party was willing to have truck with them in the elections. Asked about a common agenda, he said, “We have to look into the welfare of the people. This is the best agenda.’’
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CPM rejects SUCI boycott call Kolkata, March 30 On the other hand, the CPM and other Left Front parties today brought a massive protest march (Mahamichil) in the city against the attack on Iraqi people by the US-led coalition forces. Poets, writers, scientists, educationists, artistes, sportsmen and the people from other walks of life participated in the march. Mr Jyoti Basu, the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee. also took part. The goods boycott call was given by the SUCI. The CPI (M-L). Jamet-e-Uleman and other like-minded parties and associations supported. But the CPM and the Trinamool Congress turned down the call, arguing that such a move was meaningless and it would serve no purpose . The Congress also supported the CPM stand. But the decision annoyed the callers of the movement. The SUCI general secretary, Mr Pravash Ghosh, alleged that by opposing the boycotting movement, the CPM’s and other parties had been merely serving interest of the capitalists at the cost of the innocent lives of hundreds of Iraqi people including women and children. The Jamet-e-Uleman and other Muslim organisations which condemned the CPM’s rejection of the movement call, alleged that by not responding to the boycotting movement, the CPM had been serving the vested interests of the business lobby. Mr Biman Basu, the Left Front chairman and the CPM politburo leader, however, felt that they had taken the right step in rejecting the foreign goods boycotting movement. |
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Mufti meets Advani today New Delhi, March 30 Official sources said the high-level meeting was likely to be attended, among others, by Defence Minister George Fernandes and state Governor G.C.
Saxena. The state government’s “healing touch policy” and its decision to merge the Special Operations Group with the state police were likely to figure at the meeting. The Cabinet Committee on Security on March 25, after Mr Advani’s visit to the site of massacre, decided on the meeting. The meeting is also expected to take up the issue of resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits affected due to the violence in the state. |
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SP vows to restore Hardwar to UP Hardwar, March 30 Addressing a party rally here yesterday, Mr Naresh Aggarwal, general secretary of the party, said if a party-supported government comes to power at the Centre, Hardwar would be restored to the parent state of Uttar Pradesh. Mr Akhilesh Yadav, MP and son of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, said the party was against the formation of small states. Mr Ambrish Kumar, the national general secretary of the party, said the state government was discriminating against the people of the plains. Mr Rajesh Tikait, son of BKU chief Mahendra Singh Tikait, extended support to the party on the issue of Hardwar. The meeting was presided by Mr Ram Singh Saini, the state president of the party. |
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Humiliated by SFI activists, VC quits Midnapore, March 30 According to reports received today, the activists, who were observing a strike, protesting against the US attack on Iraq, allowed other officers to enter the administrative building of the university, except the Vice-Chancellor, and hurled abuses at him. The Vice-Chancellor at once sent a fax to Governor Viren J. Shah, who is also the Chancellor of the university, and a copy of it to state Minister for Higher Education Satyasadhan Chakraborty, expressing his intention to resign. He then left for Digha to preside over an important meeting of the Digha Development Authority as its chairman. University Registrar Jogen Debnath said the Vice-Chancellor left a note for him that read, ‘’I will not return to this university again. Kindly inform the organisers of the anti-war rally due on Monday that in spite of the best intention to join this rally, I will not be able to do so’’. The SFI did not allow the Vice-Chancellor to enter the university on the grounds that they were observing a students’ strike on Friday, protesting against the US attack on Iraq. In an altercation with the students, the Vice-Chancellor said, ‘’Do you think I am a pro-war personality? I took the initiative for an anti-war demonstration sponsored by this university and I will lead it on Monday. But, today, I have come for some urgent work, including university elections.’’ An agitated Vice-Chancellor called his private secretary to his house and dictated his resignation letter, which was faxed to the Governor and the Higher Education Minister.
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2 scribes held for blackmail Nagpur, March 30 Following a complaint by Coalmines Workers Cooperative Credit Society chairman C.G. Moje that the two journalists, employed with a Hindi daily, had demanded a bribe from him, the two were arrested.
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