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Indian pilgrims return from Pakistan

     Amritsar: The 190 pilgrims who had gone to Pakistan on March 6 to visit temples on the other side of the border, returned back to India to Saturday. The pilgrims, who chanted religious slogans after arriving at the Wagah border, said that the temples in Pakistan were in ruins and insisted that measures should be taken to preserve them. ''I visited Lahore and Katasraj Temple in Chakwal district. The temples are in ruins and everything seems to be in shambles. I felt very sad about this and I feel that it is very important for Indians and Pakistanis to work together to improve the condition of the temples," said Davki Nandan, a pilgrim. Chander Monga, another pilgrim, said that though the government of Pakistan had assured them of more funds for the development of the temples, a lot of work still needed to be done. However, the pilgrims who celebrated Mahashivaratri at Katasraj temple were touched by the hospitality they received from the people there. ''The trip to Pakistan was very good. The people there were very helpful. Everyone wants the border to open so that we can move freely into each other's country," said Sushil Kumar, another pilgrim.

NDA woos LJP for govt formation in Bihar (Go To Top)

     Patna/Chennai: The NDA has urged LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan to support their claim for power in Bihar. Earlier, the previous week, Central rule was imposed in Bihar after feuding parties failed to cobble together a majority after an inconclusive state poll. Although the RJD, which has been ruling the state since 1990 lost its majority in last month's polls, its main rival, an alliance that includes the BJP also fell short of a simple majority required to rule in the 243-seat legislature. Both groups had sought to woo the LJP to boost their numbers in the state legislature, but made no progress after a week of negotiations. The BJP has slammed LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan for his "adamant" attitude and refusal to act in accordance to the will of the people. "We have done a detailed review of the situation and we feel that President's Rule is not a solution. The National Democratic Alliance has been given a mandate by the people as the largest coalition. We understand our responsibility. For our side there will be full efforts that Bihar gets a people's government. But all is not in our hand. Our appeal is to all those who have fought against the Rashtriya Janata Dal to come together and give up their adamant attitude and work for the establishment of a people's government in Bihar," said JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar in Patna.

     Analysts, meanwhile, have warned that the Bihar imbroglio could raise prospects of political instability in New Delhi because the Congress-led coalition's majority in the 545-member parliament could come down if the RJD, with 24 members, pulls out of the government. The RJD's maverick leader, Lalu Prasad Yadav, kept the Congress on tenterhooks for days after last May's election before he finally decided to join the government. Opposition has alleged that a power struggle between Yadav and Paswan could mean a mid-term poll in the state, a move they say will be bitterly opposed by all. "The Lok Janashakti Party is trying to push Bihar to a midterm poll, which neither the NDA nor the people of Bihar will accept. We are going to oppose it tooth and nail. We feel that Paswan should come out of the UPA and talk to us. There is a solution to everything," said senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. "Its high time that the country gets into the task of debating and arriving at a consensus on the appointment, role, functions and powers of the governors. It has become all the more important in the backdrop of murky things that have happened in the state of Goa, Jharkhand recently and the dirty role played by these two governors," said senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu in Chennai.

Sankaracharya 'punished' for countering Christian propaganda: RSS (Go To Top)

     Mangalore: RSS leaders have said that Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, has been punished for countering Christian conversion propaganda. RSS chief KS Sudarshan, has accused the Central government of harassing Jayendra Saraswathi. Saraswathi, implicated in a series of cases, ranging from money laundering to assaults, was earlier arrested in a case relating to the murder of a temple official, Shankararaman, who incidentally was also a bitter critic of the Seer. Saraswati was granted bail in January, after nearly a month of detention and massive nation wide protests by Hindu groups. The RSS said that the seer's extensive charity work was increasingly luring India's poor away from Christian missionaries. "Even now the seer is being harassed and victimized and all this is happening at the behest of the Central government. It is under pressure from Christian missionaries who have been destabilized by Sankaracharya. The number of hospitals, school and charity organisations opened by him came as a boon for the poor people," Sudarshan told thousands of party workers at a conclave in Mangalore.

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