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21 killed in accident on bridge in Howrah Howrah, Apr 12 (ANI): At least 21 pilgrims, including 17 women,
were killed and 17 injured when the van carrying them collided
with a truck on a bridge in Howrah district on Friday.
The pilgrims, hailing from Ashuri Schoolmath area of South 24
Parganas district, were reportedly going to attend the "Charak"
fair at Narna Shiva temple when the accident took place.
Giving details, Discrict Magistrate Vivek Kumar said the accident
occurred at about 7:30 a.m, when the van rammed into a truck on
Garfa bridge.
The injured have been admitted to Howrah General Hospital,
where the condition of all of them was stated to be critical,
Kumar added.
Senior police officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the
situation. (ANI) Modi offers to resign from CM's post Go to
top Panaji, Apr. 12 (ANI): After being battered by the Opposition and
within the NDA for his "inability" to contain the communal
violence in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has offered to
resign.
Modi is here to take part in the two-day BJP National Executive
meeting, which began on Friday. But his fate would be decided at
a special meeting of the BJP senior leadership convened at 9 p.m.
The ongoing communal clashes in Gujarat and the issue of removing
Modi as Gujarat chief minister have more or less overshadowed the
national executive, which was originally organised to analyse
and find reasons for the party's dismal performance at recently
held Assembly elections.
The demand for Modi's removal gained momentum in the past few
days after some of the key NDA allies also voiced worry over the
way he handled the communal riots in his state.
Trinamool Congress, Janshakti Party and Telugu Desam Party (TDP),
all NDA allies, had been seeking his ouster as "he failed to
control the violence" which has continued for more than a month
now.
On the other hand, main oposition party, the Congress has
announced to launch "Modi Hatao (Remove Modi)" programme,
especially after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee issued him
clean chit last week. (ANI) Godhra the original sin, PM points out Go to
top Panaji, Apr 12 (ANI): Spelling out a cause-and-effect
relationship, Atal Behari Vajpayee said here on Friday that
violence in Gujarat was a direct outcome of the Godhra carnage.
Addressing a public rally, he lashed out at the forces behind the
train attack, issued a warning to those challenging India's
secularism and asserted that his government had equal respect for
all religions.
The killings in Gujarat following the train attack was equally
reprehensible and all efforts were being made by intelligence
agencies to trace the culprits, the Prime Minister added.
"Who are responsible for the Gujarat violence?.. Who sparked the
fire? ... How did it spread?" Vajpayee asked and said the Gujarat
tragedy could have been averted had the Godhra incident not
occurred.
"India is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society. All
religions are equal and we will not allow any challenge to the
country's secular fabric," he stated.
Taking a dig at the Congress for its statement that it would not
try to topple the NDA government, he wondered whether he should
thank the party or should tell it that "grapes are sour".
Recalling that the Congress had brought down his government in
1998 by a single vote, Vajpayee said it failed to form an
alternative government and in the subsequent elections, people
again voted for the NDA.(ANI) Gujarat burns and Modi allowed to rule: SoniaGo to
top Guwahati, Apr 12 (ANI): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday
accused the Central government of allowing Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi to continue in office even when he had failed to
contain the communal violence in the state.
The Central government sees nothing wrong in a chief minister
whose law and order administration is so infected by the politics
of communalism that it victimises officials who took a courageous
stand against communal violence", she said in her inaugural
speech at the third conference of Congress Chief Ministers here.
The fact that Gujarat continues to burn is a "most damaging
assault on our secular polity. The Congress Working Committee is
unequivocal in demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister
who has singularly failed in discharging his constitutional
obligations and responsibilities", she said.(ANI)
No mediation in Lanka, reaffirms IndiaGo to
top New Delhi, Apr 12 (ANI): The government reiterated on Friday
that it would not play the role of mediator in peace talks
between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.
The reclusive Vellupillai Prabhakaran, chief of the Liberation of
Tamil Tigers Elam, had told a news conference on Wednesday that
India was crucial to the success of the peace process aimed at
resolving the 19-year-old ethnic conflict that has killed 64,000
people.
"The Prime Minister has expressed our position fully. We are not
a part of the talks between Sri Lankan government and LTTE
(Liberation of Tamil Tigers Elam) and we do not want to interfere
in the process," Nirupama Rao, spokesperson of the External
Affairs Ministry, told reporters.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had also rejected a plea by
Prabhakaran to lift a ban on the group. India outlawed the LTTE
after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was blown up in 1991
at an election rally in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber
and accused Prabhakaran of ordering his death.
"The request for extradition has been made. I think it has been
made seven years ago in 1995 and it remains. That request is
still valid," added Ms Rao.
Rajiv Gandhi, when he was the premier, had brokered an abortive
peace pact between Tamil rebels and Colombo in 1987. (ANI)
Israeli admits killing "hundreds" in refugee camp Go to
top Jerusalem, Apr 12 (ANI): Changing its earlier estimate on the
number of Palestinians killed in Jenin refugee camp, the Israeli
army on Friday admitted that it had "apparently killed hundreds"
of Palestinians in fierce fighting in the refugee camp earlier
this week.
Speaking to Army Radio, Brigadier-General Ron Kitrey, the chief
spokesman of army said "there were apparently hundreds of dead."
The camp witnessed the bloodiest gun-battle between Israeli
soldiers and the Palestinian militants leaving hundreds of
Palestinans killed.
Earlier, the Palestinians had asked the United Nations to
intervene and investigate the killings of Palestinians in the
camp and accused Israel of carrying out massacres.
However, Kitrey had denied that the Israeli army had carried out
any massacre during its last week's offensive to root out
militants in West Bank. But his estimate of hundreds of dead,
revised the death toll and put it higher than the army's earlier
figure of 100 Palestinian fighters' death in Jenin. (ANI)
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