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Modi elected BJP legislature party leader
Gandhinagar, Dec 16 (ANI): Narendra Modi, outgoing Chief minister of Gujarat, on Monday was formally elected as the BJP legislature party leader. Modi, who got a massive mandate in the assembly elections on Saturday, would be sworn in as Chief Minister on December 22. The hero of the Hindu right-wing and undisputed victor of a watershed election, Modi had been projected as the Chief Minister, his election as the legislature party leader was a mere formality. BJP President Venkaiah Naidu and former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel were also among those present. In his first speech after being elected leader, Modi tried to reach across the political divide in the state by saying that his government would work for all sections of society. "Congress should come out with positive attitude and with new confidence. Let's create great dreams for tomorrow's Gujarat," Modi said referring to the main opposition Congress party. Modi rode to power on a campaign to check pan-Islamicism and terrorism directed from neighbouring Pakistan. Opposition parties accused Modi of not doing enough to contain religious violence which swept Gujarat earlier this year in which 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. This was the BJP's first major victory since it won national elections in 1999 and coming after a string of reverses in assembly elections. Political analysts say the BJP may now be tempted to revive its Hindu fundamentalism to win over Hindu voters for the upcoming elections. At least 10 states are due to hold elections next year ahead of national elections in 2004.(ANI) Four convicted for attack on Parliament
New Delhi, Dec 16 (ANI): An anti-terrorism court on Monday convicted four people, including a New Delhi college lecturer, over last December's attack on parliament which almost triggered a war with Pakistan. Three of those found guilty, including the Arabic lecturer, were charged with attempting to kill the prime minister, the home minister and lawmakers by helping the attackers prepare for the raid. They face the death penalty. "I hold three persons guilty for waging war against the state," judge S.N. Dhingra told a packed courtroom in New Delhi. The fourth, the wife of one of the three, was convicted of criminal conspiracy. All the sentences are to be announced on Tuesday. The court had, on December 11, deferred the much awaited pronouncement of judgement till Monday as there was some work pending on the case. D.P.Aggarwal, public prosecutor, said the government would ask for the severest sentence for the three accused. "According to sections 31 and 32 under POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and 302 under the Indian Penal Code, the Constitution gives death penalty. The same punishment is given for conspiracy. There are some guidelines by the Supreme Court under which death penalty can be given in rarest of rare cases otherwise it gives life imprisonment. This case is also rarest of the rare cases as it is the first time there has been attack on parliament in 55 years of independence. Nine people were killed and many more were injured. And it was an attack on our democracy, on our country. This comes under the rarest of the rare cases. That's why we will ask for death penalty for the three accused," said Aggarwal. Five gunmen stormed the parliament complex on December 13 last year and killed nine people, most of them security guards, before they were shot dead. India blamed Pakistan for the attack and the nuclear-armed neighbours mobilised their armies along the border. Police say two of those found guilty are members of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir. The two, Mohammad Afzal and Shaukat Hussain, were picked up by police in Srinagar two days after the attack. Hussain's wife, Navjot Sandhu, and the lecturer, Abdul Rehman Geelani, were arrested in New Delhi the same day.All four pleaded not guilty. But police said the three men confessed to their involvement while in custody and the confession was produced as evidence in the court under the special anti-terrorism law. Three others have been charged over the raid but remain at large, including Jaish founder Maulana Masood Azhar who was last week freed from house arrest by a court in Pakistan. Pakistan outlawed Jaish a year ago for fighting Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir and Masood was placed under house arrest in Bahawalpur in December, 2001. He is one of three Muslim militants India freed in December, 1999, in return for the release of passengers of an Indian Airlines plane hijacked en route to New Delhi from Nepal and flown to Afghanistan.(ANI) BJP calls shutdown in Uttaranchal
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Dehradun, Dec 16 (ANI): A shutdown was called by BJP in Uttaranchal on Monday against police atrocities on its party workers. Normal life was affected in state capital Dehradun as BJP activists took out a demonstration shouting slogans against the state government and also burnt an effigy of chief minister N.D. Tiwari. Shops and local market complexes remained closed and roads wore a deserted look. Hundreds of BJP activists were beaten up by the police when they took out a protest march on Friday, demanding the dismissal of what they called "corrupt ministers". "The businessmen of the area are agitated against the corrupt attitude of the state government and I feel that the whole of Uttaranchal is observing a shutdown and I think the result of people's anger in future will have direct impact on the Congress-led government. This anger will continue to mount till the government steps down. Our efforts are on to remove this government and till this government is removed, we won't sit quiet," said M.K. Dhayani, state BJP president. Meanwhile, activists of main opposition Congress took to streets as well and shouted slogans against BJP. Since the Congress government took office nine months ago, names of at least six senior ministers have figured in scams ranging from irregularities in official recruitments and illegal land allotments to fraudulent business deals.(ANI) Homage paid to Kargil martyrs
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to top Srinagar, Dec 16 (ANI): India on Monday paid homage to the soldiers killed during the Kargil stand-off with Pakistan in 1999. In Srinagar soldiers lined up at a memorial in memory of the martyrs and placed wreaths. Nearly 500 soldiers died on the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir's Kargil region in the campaign to oust infiltrators including Pakistani regulars, who occupied the higher reaches in the summer of 1999. The Kargil face-off nearly brought nuclear-capable India and Pakistan to the brink of their fourth full-scale war. India and Pakistan have gone to war three times, since they won independence from Britain in 1947, twice over Kashmir. India saw the fighting in Kargil sector as an undeclared war with Pakistan. Pakistan denied any involvement in the intrusion saying Kashmiri militants had occupied the heights. Tensions further soured between the two nuclear neighbours after last December's attack on parliament in which 13 people, including the five assailants of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfits, were killed. Both countries massed millions of troops after the attack but this October, India in a step to try and ease tensions in the subcontinent, decided to deescalate which was followed by Pakistan's decision to reciprocate New Delhi's move. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of promoting "cross-border terrorism" in Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge.(ANI)
Music has a chemistry to bring in peace: Kalam Go to top Chennai, Dec. 16 (ANI): Music could bring peace and harmony in the universe by unifying minds and hearts of people transcending geographical boundaries, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said while inaugurating the 76th music festival here on Sunday. The President, himself an exponent of Veena, a string instrument, added he was confident that music would provide a permanent solution to various problems, including terrorism. Kalam also presented platinum jubilee awards to noted music exponents Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Pandit Ravi Shankar. "Is there any other way to deal with the type of terrorism that we see everywhere? So many parts of the world, not only India, are convinced that one of the important tools to fight the menace is music," he remarked. The President praised the Music Academy for organising concerts all these 75 years "melting" the hearts of millions of music lovers. In the end, a poem titled "National Prayer" penned by Kalam was sung by his scientist friends, Chellamurthy and Sivakumar. (ANI) |