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Opposition lambasts PM for not sacking Modi
The Congress, Left and Samajwadi Party unanimously dismissed Vajpayee's much-hyped visit to the riot-torn state on Thursday as a futile exercise and rather late in the day. According to Congress spokesman Jaipal Reddy, the opposition would not rest until Vajpayee dismissed Modi, accused by critics of turning a blind eye to the communal clashes which claimed about 800 lives since last month. "The Prime Minister made the right gestures, struck the right postures and produced some temporary psychological relief to the victims, but he has not addressed the basic problem which is the crisis of faith," he said. Addressing nearly 4,000 riot victims at the Shah-e-Alam refugee camp on Thursday, Vajpayee, on his first visit to Gujarat since the violence erupted on February 27 , had said he was ashamed of what happened in the state. Congress spokesperson Ambika Soni, termed Vajpayee's attitude as "incongruous" and said the visit had achieved nothing. "If the Prime Minister was really ashamed and unable to face the world, the minimum he ought to have done was to throw Modi out," she remarked. Veteran CPM (M) parliamentarian, Somnath Chatterjee, accused the Prime Minister of bolstering Modi who he described as "a man who should have been in jail." Asserting that Vajpayee had "failed the country, the people and those who need all the protection, security and care", Chatterjee said: "This was only BJP's damage-control exercise aimed at political mileage. We are now even more disappointed with the Prime Minister's handling of the situation." (ANI) 3,000 Sikhs likely to attend Lahore festGo
to top ADawn newspaper quoted the Evacuee Trust Board as saying on Thursday: "All arrangements for lodging and boarding of the Sikhs have been completed." Board chairman Inayatullah Khan and Pak Singh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chairman Sardar Sham Singh told a joint press conference the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi was issuing visas to the visitors. But they feared the Indian government might not allow them to travel to Pakistan this year. Sardar Sham Singh urged the Indian government not to stop the visitors from coming to Pakistan as they could help improve relations between the two countries. (ANI) 5 terrorists killed in Nepal; cash and explosives recovered
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to top Meanwhile, the Royal Nepal Army personnel have recovered a large amount of cash and 10 gold biscuits weighing about half a kilogram in a search operation around Naldung area of Kavrepalanchowk district. The money seized came to about Rs. 1675,400, dollars 1,060 (US), dollars 450 (Australian), 230 British pounds and 67,000 Japanese yen. Moreover, nearly 19 pieces of explosives materials have been recovered from the site, and 431 pieces from Lamachaur of Kaski district and 13 pipe bombs from Dadh Khola of Sindhupalchowk area. Meanwhlie, at least six parliamentary parties, including the ruling Nepali Congress, and the main opposition have agreed to launch a joint movement to mobilize the civic bodies against the terror campaigns being spread by the Maoists across the country. A joint meeting that took place at Balkhu on Friday has decided to form an all-party committee to organize rallies, mass gatherings and intellectual meet against the communist rebels. Such programs are also being conducted at the district level. (ANI) SC says "no" to extension of CNG deadline
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to top In an order passed by a three-judge Bench comprising Justice B N Kirpal, Justice VN Khare and Justice Ashok Bhan here on Friday, the Apex court also said that a heavy fine of Rs 500 a day would be imposed on bus operators from February 1 till Friday and Rs 1,000 thereafter. The court said that the government, besides releasing 800 diesel buses every month in Delhi, would see if LPG or any other clean fuel could be used for operating buses in the Capital as suggested by the Bhure Lal Committee. Moreover, priority should be given for supply of CNG to transport sector across the country, it observed. (ANI)
Nine Palestinians killed in fresh Mideast clashesGo
to top Eight Palestinians were killed and 24 injured in Nablus, the biggest city in West Bank, while in the northern city of Jenin, a Palestinian police officer was killed in a refugee camp. The incidents came just hours after US President George W Bush, who had previously defended Israel's intrusion into Palestinian- dominated areas as an understandable response to suicide bombings, switched course under pressure from European and Arab allies and asked Israel to reverse its eight-day-old offensive. In his speech on Thursday, Bush also said that Secretary of State Colin Powell would arrive in the region next week to try to forge a ceasefire. The speech prompted Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to grant permission to the US Mideast envoy Anthony Zinni to visit Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at his besieged headquarters. Zinni is expected to meet Arafat later on Friday. (ANI) Former Afghan PM "behind plot to kill Karzai"
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to top Kabul, Apr 5 (ANI): Former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is alleged to be involved in a failed plot to kill interim leader Hamid Karzai. Kabul police chief Gen Deen Muhammad Jurat told reports on Thursday that Hekmatyar, now head of Hezb-e-Islami, was behind the plot. Interior Minister Yunis Qanuni said that about 300 people were arrested in Kabul over the last two or three days and that majority of people were Hezb-e-Islami members who had planned a campaign of "terror, abduction and sabotage". "There was a series of (assassination) plots against some prominent people, including Karzai and the returning King Zahir," Qanuni said. "Their effort was not just linked to Afghans but directed against our foreign guests as well," he said. The group also planned a bombing campaign to disrupt Afghanistan's mid-June Loya Jirga, or grand tribal council, which will decide whether to endorse Karzai's leadership or instal a new government. Jurat said Hekmatyar's son-in-law, Sabawon, was among those arrested in swoops on houses in an upper-class Kabul suburb. The homes were just several hundred metres away from where the king, who has been in exile in Rome since 1973, planned to live on his return later this month. Several large arms caches as well as documents outlining assassination plans and remote control devices for bombs were also uncovered. Hezb-e-Islami's Pakistan-based spokesman Ghairat Baheer denied the party was involved in the alleged plot and that Sabawon was Hekmatyar's son-in-law. "These people are not related to Hezb. It is just an excuse. They have their own internal differences," he said in Islamabad. "Sabawon is not related to Hezb. He is not the son-in-law of Engineer Sahib. I am his son-in-law," he added in a reference to Hekmatyar, who trained as an engineer. Qanuni said the group had not carried out any attacks before they were rounded up. "They were at the planning stage just before implementation," he said. Asked if the group wanted to bring back the Taliban, Qanuni replied: "They were engaged in acts to undermine, threaten, sabotage and harm the administration. "What lay beneath that and what was their overarching goal is something the investigation will have to reveal." Qanuni said Hekmatyar was believed to be in hiding in Herat province near the Afghan-Iran border. "He doesn't constantly stay in a single place."(ANI) |