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New Delhi, March 26 The Election Commission during the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls would be creating a history of sorts as the world’s biggest democracy would be having paper-less voting with electronic voting machines (EVMs) to decide the fate of the candidates.
JD(U) fields Fernandes from Muzaffarpur
SC seeks CM’s reply in Ansari case
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Brain behind Haren Pandya’s murder in Yemen: CBI
SC rejects Sidhu’s plea on pardon to co-accused
AI’s clean chit to politicians
Chinese minister’s visit to boost ties
Raja Bhaiya cases: SC seeks reply
Madhumani’s bail plea rejected
Indo-US Army exercise in Mizoram
USA plays down lifting of Pak sanctions
Trishul testfired for second day
Anoop Jalota joins BJP
CPM releases list for 9 seats
Cong may pit Moushmi against M.M. Joshi RSS boycotted Quit India movement: Sibal
Suspended KPCC general secy seeks CM’s intervention
VHP for law to ban conversions
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EVMs can’t be tampered with: EC
New Delhi, March 26 Nearly 10.75 lakh EVMs would deployed across the country to enable 675 million voters to choose the candidate of their choice through the EVMs, where more than one third of the population was illiterate. As apprehension had been expressed in various quarters about the working of these EVMs, the poll panel today made it clear that there was no possibility of tampering with EVMs. Further, the EVMs would reduce the chances of booth capturing as the machine could accept only five votes in a minute if the proper procedure was adopted. Deputy Election Commissioner A N Jha told mediapersons that these machines had been tested in different climate conditions and situations. They could work smoothly in hilly areas as well as in plains, where temperatures during the April-May would be as high as 45°C. Explaining the working of machines, Mr Jha said that the design of the machines was made by the public sector company Electronics Corporation of India, which would deploy more than 1,500 personnel in the forthcoming elections to ensure that all machines functioned without any problem. He said more than five lakh EVMs had been used by the commission in different Assembly constituencies and Lok Sabha elections and their failure rate was almost negligible. “Only 300 machines were replaced due to mal-functioning,” he added. The major fault was due to mis-handling of machines by the polling staff, he said. Mr Jha said results of all 543 Lok Sabha seats and the three state Assemblies, barring technical reasons, would be available by the late afternoon on May 13 as the usage of EVMs would ensure faster counting of votes. He said that to count the votes in an Assembly took around four to five hours and since each Assembly segment was counted simultaneously, the result could be declared within six to seven hours. “If printed ballot papers are used, it used to take two to three days for counting votes for a Parliament seat”, he added. He pointed out that a few thousand voters in Sikkim would cast three votes each in the coming electoral exercise — one for Parliament, second for the Assembly and third for the reserved Sangha constituency seat in the Himalayan state. As a result, the Election Commission would provide three EVM units each in some 55 polling stations in this North-Eastern state, where polling was slated for May 10. The Sangha constituency comprised Buddhist monks and had been allocated a reserved seat in the 32-member state Assembly. The Buddhist monks, representing this constituency, were spread over 55 polling stations — located in various Buddhist monasteries — in different Assembly seats across the state, he said. Meanwhile, two EVMs each would be used in polling stations in states where balloting for both the Assembly and Lok Sabha would be held simultaneously. “One EVM will be used where only Parliament elections are being held,” Mr Jha added. Meanwhile, more than 100 persons with disabilities today held a dharna at the Nirvachan Sadan urging the Election Commission to make the general elections disabled-friendly. The protesters under the banner of the Disability Rights Group submitted a five-point charter of demands to the EC to help, according to estimates, about 45 million disabled voters exercise their franchise without difficulty. The five “easy steps for a disabled-friendly election” include transport facilities, wooden ramps and Braille print-outs. “It will be a mockery of democracy if the disabled people are not allowed to vote,” said Javed Abidi, convener of the Disabled Rights Group
(DRG). |
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JD(U) fields Fernandes from Muzaffarpur
New Delhi, March 26 The Janata Dal (U) today released its first list for 26 Lok Sabha seats including one in Assam, 19 in Bihar, one each in Karnataka, Lakshdweep, Manipur and Rajasthan and two in Uttar Pradesh. Union Minister Sharad Yadav and Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh were seeking re-election from Madhepura and Banka, respectively. Railway Minister Nitish Kumar’s name did not figure in the list and the party pipeline says that he might be fielded from Nalanda instead of Barh as his victory margin in the last elections was not very encouraging. Party general secretary Shiv Kumar told TNS that the JD(U) was contesting 24 of the 40 seats in Bihar under a seat-sharing agreement with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Muzaffarpur seat is held by Jai Narain Nishad of the BJP. He said that the party was yet to declare candidates for Barh, Hajipur, Nalanda, Munger and Rosera seats. Renu Kumari who represented Khagaria in the thirteenth Lok Sabha was the only woman to be given a ticket by the party. The party had denied ticket to Mahender Baitha and Manje Lal. While Mahender Baitha had represented the Bagaha Lok Sabha seat four times, Manje Lal had represented the Samastipur seat thrice. Sources said that voters in Nalanda were not satisfied with Mr Fernandes’ performance. They said that the JD(U) President had neglected his constituency and did not deserve to be reelected. Aware perhaps of the fact that Mr Fernandes had slim chances of winning the Nalanda seat this time, party strategists had fielded him from Muzaffarpur. He won the Muzaffarpur seat in 1977 when he was in jail. The party had fielded former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra from Jhanjharpur this time. In Uttar Pradesh, the JD(U) gave ticket to its general secretary K.C. Tyagi for the Meerut seat and Kumwar Sarwaraj Singh for the Aonla seat. Kunwar Sarwaraj Singh represented the Aonla seat in the thirteenth Lok Sabha. MPs who were renominated were Ramjivan Singh from Balia, Prabhunath Singh from Maharajganj, Renu Kumari from Khagaria, Naval Kishore Rai from Sitamarhi and Dinesh Chandra Yadav from Saharsa. The party fielded Ashok Verma for Arrah, Sushil Kumar Singh from Aurangabad, Kailash Baitha from Bagaha, Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lallan) from Beghusarai, Ajit Kumar Singh from Bikramganj, Arun Kumar from Jehanabad, Prabhu Dayal from Gopalganj, Om Prakash Yadav from Siwang and Harinder Kumar from Vaishali. The JD(U) also announced the name of Rashid-ul-Haq for the Kaliabore seat in Assam, G.K.C. Reddy for Chikkaballapur in Karnataka, Dr P.Pookumhi Koya for Lakshdweep, Rosang Zuala for Outer Manipur and Dhan Singh Rawat for
Banswara. |
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SC seeks CM’s reply in Ansari case
New Delhi, March 26 Issuing notices to Mr Yadav in person, the state Chief Secretary and the Union Government, a Bench of Mr Justice S.N. Variava and Mr Justice H.K. Sema directed them to submit replies, why the probe should not be handed over to the CBI. Ansari, who has been convicted under an Arms Act case and a TADA case earlier, had allegedly struck a Rs 1 crore deal for purchasing the LMG with an Army deserter, arrested by the police on January 24 from Varanasi. “Entire machinery of the state government, including the Chief Minister is involved in protecting outlaw MLA Mukhtar Ansari, by misusing their power and authority,” a public interest litigation (PIL) by advocate Rohit Pandey said. The interference of the Chief Minister in the investigation of the case was evident from the fact that the IG and the DIG of the Special Task Force (STF) probing the case, had been shifted out and the investigating officer of the rank of DSP was forced to resign after he refused to bow down to the pressure
exerted on him, it said. “Ansari is also involved in several murder, smuggling, narcotic and drug trafficking cases and is currently on conditional bail, granted by the apex court on August 19, 2003,” the petition said, pointing out that one of the condition was that he would not commit any other offence while on bail. It said though the STF had recommended the booking of Ansari under POTA after a case under the Act was registered against the Army deserter, the Mulayam Singh Government had turned it down and the Chief Minister made a categorical statement in the Assembly on February 12 that POTA would not be imposed on him at any cost. “This is a glaring example how hardcore criminals, smugglers and unscrupulous elements are being protected by politicians,” the PIL said. |
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Brain behind Haren Pandya’s murder in Yemen: CBI
Ahmedabad, March 26 Exactly a year ago, former Home and Revenue Minister Pandya was gunned down in his own car just before he was to go for his morning walk in the Law Garden of the city. Many fingers were pointed towards it being a political murder with allegations being made directly at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by Mr Pandya’s father. The government was urged to hand over the probe to the CBI. However, probe by the CBI unearthed a deep-rooted conspiracy by the ISI trained youths to strike at any prominent Hindu leader to avenge the death of minorities during the post-Godhra communal riots, CBI officials said. The agency said the assailants had stalked several other VHP leaders and had decided to eliminate Mr Pandya as he was unguarded most of the time and whose death would hurt the majority community. The CBI traced alleged killer Ali and two other from Hyderabad and also arrested four “ISI trained youths” from the city and invoked POTA against them in June while four others were still at large. As part of its investigation the CBI has also issued red corner notices and intimated the Interpol for the whereabouts of city-based Mufti Sufiyan Patangiyan, the alleged mastermind behind the murder, who is believed to have fled to Yemen, agency sources added. The CBI has framed a charge sheet in the case and it is all set to go into trial after the orders are given on two petitions, one before the Supreme Court and the other before the POTA review committee, filed to challenge application of the anti-terror law on all the 19 accused persons. The CBI has also got a clearance from the POTA court to keep names of several witnesses secret. The agency has wound up its investigations in the case the agency sources said adding that with the arrest of Patangiyan, who allegedly hatched the conspiracy at the Jumma Masjid in Ahmedabad, more facts of subversive activities in the state and other parts of the country may come to light.
— PTI |
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SC rejects Sidhu’s plea on pardon to co-accused
New Delhi, March 26 A bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice B .N. Srikrishna, declined to entertain Sidhu’s petition and dismissed it at the notice stage, saying there was no merit in his plea. Sidhu had alleged that naming of the two co-accused first in the case and later the prosecution’s facilitating the grant of pardon to them was under a “design” to frame him. However, the court did not agree with the contention of his counsel S. Muralidhar, and said it was prerogative of the prosecution to decide if a co-accused could help it in proving its case and there was a procedure laid down under the law for it. According to the prosecution, the two co-accused — Prem Sagar and Randhir Singh Deera, who allegedly acted as conduit on behalf of Sidhu to solicit the candidates appearing for PPSC exams, had turned approvers in the case and deposed as prosecution witnesses. |
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AI’s clean chit to politicians New Delhi, March 26 This comes as a breather to the Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, as the ministry in its report to the Election Commission today said no free passes for the flight had been given in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Confirming the receipt of the report, EC sources said the poll panel was examining the report prepared by Air-India and would express its comment at an appropriate time. The poll panel, which initiated the action, on the basis of an “insider complaint”, had asked the ministry to provide the list of “high profile political functionaries” for the visit to London at the public sector’s expense. Air-India in a statement said it had not issued any free travel passes to any political functionary of high profile to London since February 29, the day Model Code of Conduct came into force. Meanwhile, the ministry in a statement denied that the minister had any role in the episode. It said “no such political functionary has been given any free passes.” |
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Chinese minister’s visit to boost ties
New Delhi, March 26 The visit can be termed historic as it would be the first by a defence minister from China and comes as a result of the invitation extended to him by Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes. Leading a 13-member delegation, he is slated to hold talks with the Defence Minister George Fernandes on the 29th of this month. Gen Cao's visit also assumes significance as it comes within a year of Mr Fernandes' visit The major focus of the talks is the enhancement of bilateral cooperation while sustaining the dialogue to address differences and improve relations on the basis of Panchsheel. In addition to that, confidence-building measures and respect for mutual sensitivity to each other's concerns will also be touched upon in
the talks. Another significant area of discussion is the reaffirmation of commitment of the two sides to continue maintain peace and tranquility along the border. Other matters that will figure in the talks are the narrowing down of the areas of differences and sustaining the momentum of high-level exchanges between India and China. Both the countries are expected to exchange views on regional and international situation. After his visit to Bangalore and Mumbai, the Chinese Defence Minister will be presented a ceremonial guard of honour in South Block lawns when he arrives in Delhi on Monday. The three Service Chiefs will call on him later in the day. During his visit to Bangalore, he will visit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and later the Western Naval Command at Mumbai and Para brigade and Air Force Station at Agra. The General is also slated to deliver a lecture at the National Defence College here. |
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Raja Bhaiya cases: SC seeks reply
New Delhi, March 26 A Bench of Mr Justice S Rajendra Babu and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit its reply by April 5 to a transfer petition, filed by a key witness, who alleged that he faced threat to his life from Raja Bhaiya. Advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for witness Avdesh Kumar Shukla, alleged that some of the witnesses were eliminated recently and if Raja Bhaiya, against whom the state government proposed to withdraw POTA charges, was released from jail, the lives of other witnesses would be under serious threat. However, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh Government, said there was no truth in the allegation. The court on March 24, had restrained the state Government from withdrawing POTA charges against Raja Bhaiya without the consent of the Union Government which was made a party to the case and was directed to make its stand clear on the issue. The court, meanwhile, issued a notice to state Government on an appeal by another witness S.K. Shukla, challenging the grant of bail to Akshay Pratap Singh by the Allahabad High Court. Raja Bhaiya, his father and his cousin who allegedly face several criminal cases, had been booked under POTA by the previous Mayawati Government. |
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Madhumani’s bail plea rejected
Lucknow, March 26 Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI court) Digvijay Nath rejected Madhumani's bail plea. Yesterday, the same court remanded her to judicial custody till April 8. The court also extended the judicial remand of the other accused in the case, Samajwadi Party MLA Amarmani Tripathi and three others till April 8. Meanwhile, the CBI is slated to move the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court to secure police remand of Madhumani after their plea was rejected by the lower court yesterday. The agency had urged the Special CBI court here that since Madhumani was evading arrest since December last, it was necessary to interrogate her even as it pleaded for five days police remand. Earlier, Madhumani had applied for three weeks' time to surrender on March 23, but the Lucknow Bench had turned down her plea which forced her to surrender yesterday.
— UNI |
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Indo-US Army exercise in Mizoram
New Delhi, March 26 The exercise code-named ‘Yudh Abhyas’ would be carried out at the Indian Army’s counter-insurgency and jungle warfare school at Vairangte from March 27 to April 17, an Army spokesman said here today. The exercise would be of importance to the US Army as it had been seeking to hone the skills of its soldiers to fight counter-insurgents, specially in the jungles and the desert region. An exchange exercise with the US Army had also been planned to be held in the USA, on July 4, where an Indian Army infantry platoon would participate in US Army battalion level field and live fire exercise. ‘Yudh Abhyas’, the spokesman said, would be the first time that regular infantry soldiers from the two armies would be involved, as till now, India and US have carried out joint exercises at the special forces level near Leh in Jammu and Kashmir and in Agra. The exercises would be carried out in phases with the American soldiers given a week for familirisation at the counter-insurgency school, which had recently been attracting officers and men from number of western armies. While the initial phase would be for carrying out cross-country runs, slithering and firing, later the two sides would conduct exercises in anti-militancy and unconventional operations. |
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USA plays down lifting of Pak sanctions
New Delhi, March 26 “This is not new news. This is old news that has been repeated several times — four to be exact”, sources in the US Embassy here said when asked about the Washington’s decision announced yesterday. They said this was not an “additional new development” in the US-Pak relations. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush had waived sanctions on Pakistan to permit the flow of economic assistance to that country. This waiver was extended in March, 2002, by one year and then again in March next year, the sources said, adding the recent announcement to this effect simply repeated the actions Mr Bush had done in the past three years. This waiver allowed the flow of economic assistance to Pakistan for this fiscal year, they said.
— PTI |
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Trishul testfired for second day
Balasore (Orissa), March 26 The missile, designed especially for the sea skimming exercise for the Indian Navy, was testfired from a mobile launcher at 11.02 am, ITR sources said. The short range indigenously built missile was also testfired yesterday at 2.50 pm. Trishul was one of the five missiles under various stages of development by the Defence Research Development Organisation and part of the integrated guided missile development programme. The missile can be used by all three wings of defence. ITR sources said the solid fuel propelled missile has a battle role for all three forces with a range from 300 metres to 9 km. The three metre-long missile, sources said, moves at a supersonic speed and has a command line of flight guidance system. It also has a very sensitive radar altimeter and could skim over the sea at a very low altitude. ITR sources said the missile was testfired to prove its accuracy and other parameters.
UNI |
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Anoop Jalota joins BJP
New Delhi, March 26 Jalota, who claimed to have been closely associated with the Jana Sangh ideology since his childhood, joined the party in the presence of BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan and Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley at the party headquarters. Jalota, who sang “Sare jahaan se achcha”, said the Vajpayee government had made the country both “physically and economically strong” during the past six years in office. He is the third singer to join the BJP in the run-up to the elections, after Bhupen Hazarika and Kumar
Shanu. |
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CPM releases list for 9 seats
New Delhi, March 26 The party has made major climb down in Bihar, where it would now contest only one seat, Bhagalpur, where the sitting member Subodh Roy, has been again given the ticket. The CPM had been demanding the Rashtriya Janata Dal for two seats in the state and was ready to give one seat in West Bengal for the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Despite the seat sharing agreement with the RJD and other secular parties in the state, the CPM has made it clear that it would oppose secular party candidates with criminal records like Pappu Yadav. Of the nine seats, the party has given tickets to three sitting MLAs to contest the Lok Sabha poll. In Maharashtra, the party is contesting from three seats — Dahanu (ST), Malegaon (ST) and Wardha where it has given tickets to Ramji Vartha (MLA), J.P. Gavit (MLA) and Yashwant Zade, respectively. In Rajasthan, Amra Ram (MLA) would contest from Sikar and Sheopat Ram Meghwal from Ganganagar (SC) seat. |
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Cong may pit Moushmi against M.M. Joshi New Delhi, March 26 After scouring the countryside far and wide, it is yet to zero in on any political heavyweights or celebrities who could be pitted against stalwarts like Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
Lucknow, deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in Gandhi Nagar and Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi in Allahabad. Not just these three, the Congress is also on the look out for suitable candidates who could take on BSP president Mayawati and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav. Mayawati has not declared her candidature yet but it is expected that she will contest from Akbarpur. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister is tipped to enter the fray from Mainpuri. Congress sources say they are seriously toying with the possibility of pitting strong candidates against the SP and BSP chiefs now that that their alliance with the two has fallen through.. Besides, these two parties have already declared their Lok Sabha candidates against Congress president Sonia Gandhi. “The fact is that we are finding it difficult to find suitable candidates who can give these stalwarts a tough fight,” said a senior UP Congress leader. Though several names have been tossed round, no final decision has been taken yet. There is one suggestion that senior Congress leader, Meira Kumar, late Jagjivan Ram’s
daughter, could be a good choice to take on Mayawati. Similarly, there is a view that actress Moushmi Chatterjee be fielded from Allahabad as there is a huge Bengali population in this constituency. The initial proposal that the Opposition should field joint candidates against the three senior BJP leaders was scuttled by the Samajwadi Party which went ahead and announced its candidate from Lucknow. It was stated that there were strong candidates like Ram Jethmalani who was willing to take on the Prime Minister provided he was the Opposition’s consensus candidate. Congress sources say there is an overwhelming view in the party that it should not allow the rival senior leaders to get away unchallenged and that an effort should be made to put up a tough fight, even if it is only to make a political statement. In such a case, a party either opts for a non political celebrity or a mature political personality, who is acceptable to a cross-section of society. While the Congress party’s hunt for celebrities and stalwarts is continuing, it is also struggling to finalise its list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh. With its alliance with the BSP and SP having fallen through, the Congress has identified nearly 15-17 constituencies which it is willing to leave for smaller parties like the Apna Dal, National Loktantrik Party, Muslim Majlis, Rashtrawadi Communist Party and Kisan Morcha. All these groups, it is stated, have influence in small pockets of UP and though negotiation with them are under way, there is scepticism whether this limited support can translate into votes. |
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RSS boycotted Quit India movement: Sibal New Delhi, March 26 No RSS leader had taken part in this movement, the Congress charged. On the contrary, they had actually collaborated with the colonial powers, Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal said today. “Today, they talk of desh bhakti but not a single member from their organisation went to jail during that period,” he said, adding that if they were true nationalists, they would not have kept silent during that period. In fact, Mr. Sibal said, the RSS had boycotted the Quit India Movement while its leading light Golwalkar had even gone as far as to say that the Quit India movement should be ignored as it would only create chaos. “If they are truely swadeshi as they claim to be, why don’t they wear pyjamas instead of knickers,” said Mr Sibal. He then challenged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and the RSS to answer the following questions: * Did the RSS organise any rally against colonial rule during 1925-47? * Did they make a single statement against the British during that period? * Did the RSS have any kind of protest against videshi powers in those 22 years? * Did any of the RSS leaders go to jail during that time? The Congress spokesperson also challenged Mr L.K. Advani’s statement comparing the Congress with the Muslim League. Mr. Sibal maintained that actually it is the RSS which should be compared to the Muslim League as they had both boycotted the Quit India movement. |
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Suspended KPCC general secy seeks CM’s intervention
Thiruvananthapuram, March 26 Addressing reporters at the venue of the fast, which entered the second day today, Mr Prasad said the crisis in the Congress could never be solved if things kept moving on the directives of Mr K. Muraleedharan. Since last evening, Mr Prasad’s supporters have been thronging the KPCC office Indira Bhavan, with party office-bearers not turning up in their chambers. KPCC general secretary K.P. Kunhikannan, who is in charge of the office affairs, had left for his home town yesterday. A large number of supporters and second-rung leaders, mostly from the anti-Karunakaran factions, kept calling on the fasting leader in the foyer of the KPCC office. Meanwhile, Chief Minister A.K. Antony met senior leader K Karunakaran at his house this morning to discuss the developments in the party. Mr Prasad and Mr Unnithan, both vocal Karunakaran spokesmen until recently, were suspended from the party yesterday for their outbursts against Mr Karunakaran and his son and electricity Minister, Mr K. Muraleedharan.
— PTI |
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VHP for law to ban conversions
Vijayawada, March 26 “There is need to bring a Central law to stop conversions in the country”, VHP International Working President Ashok Singhal said, adding that “there is apprehension that the Hindu population will decrease by 2060”. Mr Singhal also said that temple funds should be used for the purpose and accused politicians of “stealing them” for other “unwarranted purposes”. The VHP leader, who was here to participate in a “yajna” by the Acharya Sabha’s Jeear Swamiji on the Krishna river banks, told newsmen on the sidelines of the celebration that “Hindu girls were being ‘kidnapped’ and sent to Muslim countries.” “The population of the Hindu community was thus being reduced”, he said. — PTI |
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