Udhampur, April 30
Mr L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, in a scathing attack on the Congress, accused it of having supported the daughters’ Bill in the Assembly just to remain in power in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Advani, who was addressing an election rally here today, said it was the compulsion of the Congress to support the grossly anti-women Bill as it wanted to stick to the chair in the PDP-led coalition government.

He said while elsewhere in the country steps were being taken for gender equality, it was strange that a party like the Congress saw to it that the draconian Bill seeking to deny property rights to women marrying outsiders was passed in the Assembly. The Bill got held up only when it was not put to vote in the Legislative Council.

Mr Advani accused the Congress of double standards on the issue of equality for women. The Women Reservation Bill could not be passed in Parliament only because of opposition to it by the Congress.

He said the daughters’ Bill had become a hurdle in the way of motional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.

He said the people of Jammu had been facing domination of Kashmir in all spheres only because of the inability of the Congress. He hoped that the Congress would get the report of the Wazir Commission implemented for removing the imbalances with the Jammu region.

The Deputy Prime Minister also advised the Congress not to become an obstacle in the way of restoration of peace and normalcy in the state.

He said the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was going in the right direction to solve the 57-year-old Kashmir tangle by initiating a dialogue with Pakistan. He said only a BJP government was capable of finding a solution to the problem.

The ceasefire between India and Pakistan had enabled farmers for the first time to plough their right on the border.

Mr Advani, however, made it clear that while India was taking steps for friendly relations with Pakistan, it could not afford to be complacent on the borders from where terrorists had been infiltrating. We have to protect the lives of innocent people.” he said.

He came down heavily on the militant outfits that have given a call for boycott of the Lok Sabha elections and said they did not want democracy to flourish in the state. But despite their threats, the voter turnout had increased this time.

Mr Advani stressed that the exit polls of various channels were misleading and there was a wave in favour of Mr Vajpayee throughout the country. While the strength of the BJP had been increasing in the Lok Sabha in every election, that of the Congress was decreasing and it would be a surprise for “me” in case the Congress managed to maintain its three digit strength in the Lok Sabha this time, he said.

He said Mr Vajpayee had become a natural choice of the people for the post of Prime Minister, as he was not only a popular leader but also an effective administrator. On the other hand, the Congress was not in a position to project anyone as its prime ministerial candidate.

He said, “We want to make a fully developed country by 2020 by providing all facilities in the six lakh villages.”

Jammu, April 30
It was mini-roadshow as Mr L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, today drove to Hiranagar from Pathankot to campaign for the Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, who is BJP candidate from the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency.

Mr Advani undertook the 38-km drive to address an election rally in Hiranagar town near the Indo-Pakistan border. Earlier, he addressed an election rally at Udhampur from where he flew to Pathankot and thereafter proceeded to Hiranagar by car. Because of rain, he did not stop anywhere between Pathankot and Hiranagar.

Mr Advani said he was unable to touch Jammu during this Bharat Uday Yatra, which he had to terminate at Amritsar as the elections were announced. However, he had decided to come here after polling in this constituency was over. He credited the Vajpayee-led NDA government at the Centre for peace on the borders.

He said terrorism was continuing in Jammu and Kashmir even after the joint statement of India and Pakistan in Islamabad. However, the peace initiatives would continue.

Mr Advani said terrorists were trying to dismantle the Indian democracy. That is why they had given a call for boycott of the Lok Sabha elections. They were targeting political leaders and activists and threatening the electorate. Despite that, India had emerged more powerful on the international scene.

Two Hizb militants were killed during a fierce gunbattle with the security forces at Dardpora in Anantnag district in south Kashmir early this morning, the sources said. Two AK assault rifles were seized from their possession, they added.

In another pre-dawn operation, two militants were killed in an encounter at Kulangam in Kupwara district in north Kashmir, the sources said. Meanwhile, three civilians were injured when militants exploded a grenade in Tral township of Pulwama district in south Kashmir today, official sources said.

Militants had lobbed the grenade at a security vehicle, near Tral bus stand at 2.30 pm, but it missed the target and exploded on the road, injuring three pedestrians, they said. The injured were shifted to a hospital, they said.

Jammu, April 30
In a gruesome act, militants kidnapped an elderly man and tortured him to death in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said here today.

A group of ultras barged into the house of 60-year-old Mohammad Qasim in Bijoni village of Ramban tehsil in Doda.

They took him to a forest area where they tortured him for two days, the sources said.

Qasim was let off from captivity by the ultras yesterday, they said, adding that he breathed his last soon after reaching home.