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UP police seal Nepal border on poll eve

          Sonoli (UP): India has beefed up security along its porous borders with Nepal to prevent Maoist infiltration during the third phase of national polls. More than 137 constituencies across 11 states would vote on April 26. Uttar Pradesh police have sealed the 152-km-long Sonoli border and joint patrolling with Nepalese police is on. The police have also set up watch towers to detect infiltration. "Along the open border 36 check- points have been made. They will help in checking and frisking and on the day of polling all these areas will be sealed to prevent entry of any person," said Rameshwar Dayal, Inspector General of Police, Gorakhpur.

          Landlocked Nepal, ringed by India on three sides and with the Himalayan mountains on the north, is struggling to quell a six- year old Maoist rebellion that has taken a heavy toll on one of the 10 poorest countries of the world. More than 3,500 people have been killed in the revolt -- 1,700 of them since the rebels broke a truce in November, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and send the army after them for the first time. The rebels are fighting to topple the constitutional monarchy and install a communist republic.

60 women to contest third phase of polls (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Sixty women are among the 1278 candidates in the fray for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections for 137 parliamentary constituencies spread over 11 states on April 26, campaigning for which ends at 5 p.m. today. On April 20, the first day of the polls, 81 women out of 1,103 contestants for 140 Parliamentary seats were in the fray.

Srinagar under heavy security blanket ahead of poll (Go To Top)

         Srinagar: Indian Kashmir's main city Srinagar has been fortified ahead of Monday's polling in the troubled region in view of the escalated violence. In the latest attack suspected militants attacked the office of Congress party in Srinagar on Friday, setting off explosions and firing at security forces. The militants have also targeted election rallies and campaign convoys of politicians in a bid to scare voters and candidates in the world's largest democratic exercise. The violence follows calls by Muslim separatist groups to boycott the polls, which are being held in five rounds from April 20 to May 10. Officials said intercepts of radio conversations between the rebel groups indicated more trouble and therefore security forces had been put on high alert. Militants had set off mines and fired at polling stations when one part of the state voted on Tuesday in the first stage of polls.

Congress asks Vajpayee to retire (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee should retire and ''make a confession that he cannot control the naughty boys around.'' How can he rule the nation when he cannot control his own people around. We are advising the Prime Minister to retire,'' Congress spokesman Abishek Manu Singhvi said at the routine briefing. Replying to a question, he said Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray ''is the naughtiest of them all.'' Asked who would be the leader of the Congress after the election, Singhvi said Ms Sonia Gandhi was now leading the party as its president. She would be the natural choice in the event of the Congress getting majority. However, the party's allies would select a 'consensus' candidate to head the government if the Congress and its allies together got majority.

Vote BJP, Bukhari urges Muslims (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Chief cleric of Jama Masjid on Saturday called upon the Muslims to back the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the national elections, now under way. Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, told Asian News International that the BJP is no longer untouchable and can be trusted. "Muslims have suffered a lot at the hands of these so-called secular parties. They have made the Muslims fear the BJP to get their votes but have not done anything for the Muslims. But now I think the Muslims have begun to realise that these parties cannot get votes this way now. Gone are the days when Muslims used to follow parties blindly. Now the Muslims don't believe secular parties at all," Bukhari said in the interview.

          The shift in Bukhari's statement, the first by a cleric of Jama Masjid, comes amidst newspaper speculation that Bukhari's son could be contesting the Chandi Chowk election on behalf of the BJP. However, that did not happen as nominations closed on Friday. The BJP has made several efforts to woo the minorities since massive national polls began last week. Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee has repeatedly extended a hand of friendship to the Muslims who were earlier seen as anti-BJP. A few prominent Muslim political leaders, including Arif Mohammad Khan and Najma Heptullah, deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, have either joined or drifted towards the BJP, dispelling the party's suspected deep-seated bias against the country's 120 million Muslims.

          Bukhari said the Muslims would give a fair chance to the BJP. "We want to give others a chance and understand them also. We are not bonded labours or slaves of somebody who have to support their masters," said Bukhari. Exit polls after the first round of voting on Tuesday suggested the BJP was set to return to power.

          Despite sporadic attacks on Christian community and their institutions in 1998 and 1999, followed by the worst anti-Muslim riots in more than a decade, in Gujarat in 2002, during the BJP's tenure, the party has been able to rein in the Hindu radicals on the explosive temple-mosque row in Ayodhya. The BJP rose to centrestage in the eighties and nineties campaigning on the temple issue, uniform civil code and withdrawing privileged status to Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has played down its hardline Hindu image and campaigned instead on a platform of peace and prosperity. The Congress has long accused the BJP of a deep-seated bias against the Muslims, who make up about 12 percent of India's more than a billion population, and says the party remains a threat to India's secular character. The Muslims generally vote en masse on the call of chief clerics of various mosques of which Jama Masjid, is the most influential. The community has traditionally voted for the Congress and regional Muslim parties but lately they have backed the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party representing the most backward classes.