<b>Blasts linked to Bush protests: Advani</b>
Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi | March 08, 2006 00:56 IST
Last Updated: March 08, 2006 01:19 IST
Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani while condemning the Varanasi bomb blasts told mediapersons that he cannot delink the events in the holy city from the anti-Bush protests and the anti- Prophet cartoon protests, which took place all over India when President George Bush visited India.
When asked to explain his statement, Advani told rediff.com, "I was trying to say that since the last few days an atmosphere was allowed to be created in the country where fundamentalism is getting space to be nurtured."
"Some people have not understood my reaction. Terrorism is not due to India's close relations with the US. We were facing terrorism long before the Bush visit," he said.
"When I went to Pakistan, I told Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that the terror infrastructure in his country is not yet dismantled. When on March 2, I met President Bush I told him to get rid of the impression that terrorism is on the decline in India. It's your wrong impression, I told him. In the last few months, India has faced terrorism in Ayodhya, on the eve of Diwali and later in Bangalore. The attack in Varanasi is one more in that series. Camps are not dismantled across the border and terrorism is alive because the infrastructure of terrorism is not dismantled," he added.
"Many political parties, lead by Congress, are vying to promote minorityism. Yesterday what I saw in Parliament was extremely disgusting. I saw the ruling party, Left parties and allies competing to table the Godhra report. Do you know when they were competing to appease the minorities what was the first item on Parliament's agenda? The prime minister's statement to Parliament on the Iran nuclear issue!" he said.
"This kind of approach will not benefit the minority, nor any political party indulging in it. It won't benefit the country," he added.
When told that critics accuse the Bhartiya Janata Party and leaders like him of politicising a terrorist attack, Advani said, "They can react to the canard report of Banerjee panel on the Godhra incident. What kind of approach is this? The high court has also passed a stricture against the Justice Banerjee Committee and the railway ministry. The railway minister (Lalu Prasad Yadav) deserves to go."
"When such a huge episode occurs in country we have to condemn it , we will protest against it," he said.
CHRONOLOGY - Major attacks in India in the past five years
Tue Mar 7, 2006 11:49 PM IST173
Reuters - At least 15 people were killed and 60 wounded in three explosions in the north Indian Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi on Tuesday, police said.
Following is a chronology of some major attacks in the past five years in a country facing revolts in several areas and often hit by sectarian and communal violence.
Oct. 1, 2001 - Militants storm the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly complex, killing about 35.
Dec. 13 - More than a dozen people, including five gunmen, die in an attack on the parliament complex in New Delhi.
Sep. 2002 - Militants with guns and explosives attack the Akshardham Hindu temple in Gujarat, killing 31 and wounding more than 80.
May 14 - Militants attack an army camp near Kashmir's winter capital Jammu, killing more than 30, including several wives and children of soldiers.
Aug 25, 2003 - Two almost simultaneous car bombs kill about 60 in the financial and entertainment capital Mumbai.
Aug 15, 2004 - Bomb explodes in Assam, killing 16 people, mostly school children, and wounding dozens.
Oct. 29, 2005 - Sixty-six people are killed when three blasts tear through markets in the capital New Delhi.
Source: Reuters
I was planning to visit Varanasi <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I don't know when I will be able to go!!!
You should visit.
These scum bags .............
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Seven bombs were later defused, including four that had been planted on the Gowdolia-Dasashwamedh Ghat Road near the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has rushed to Varanasi. "The situation is constantly being reviewed at the highest level. The Centre is in constant touch with the State Government for any assistance they may require," he said. All State Governments have been alerted.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The entire top brass of Varanasi police was away in Farooqabad attending the wedding of a relative of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav when the bombings took place.</span>
The deadliest attack was on the famous Sankat Mochan temple where thousands of devotees had assembled to pay obeisance to Lord Hanuman around 6.15 pm. The impact of the blast was so powerful that many of the victims were blown to smithereens.
While scores of devotees were left bleeding by the explosion, several others were hurt in the stampede that followed. The blast sent shock waves across the city.
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Why Politicians relatives need extra security?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->www.indianexpress.com/ful...t_id=89193
<i>We told you so, says the Sangh, as worried UPA keeps its fingers crossed
Politics Sonia, Patil reach Varanasi; BJP, VHP call bandh; atmosphere created has helped fundamentalist forces: Advani </i>
MANINI CHATTERJEE
Posted online: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 at 0211 hours IST
NEW DELHI, MARCH 7: The heat under the simmering communal and political cauldron of Uttar Pradesh was turned on after the blasts in the holy town of Varanasi this evening, triggering an angry<b> ââwe-told-you-soââ chorus from the RSS-BJP-VHP combine </b>even as the Congress leadershipâsetting aside its antipathy for the Mulayam Singh government for the momentâpleaded for unity and calm.
A host of top political leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP chief Rajnath Singh, will be in Varanasi. Sonia and Home Minister Shivraj Patil were expected to reach late tonight.
<b>The BJP has already given a call for a Varanasi bandh while the VHP has gone a step further to call for a statewide bandh in UP. The BJP has also given notice to suspend Question Hour in Parliament tomorrow. On its agenda: the blasts and the alleged ââcompetitive minorityismââ that has encouraged ââjehadi terrorismââ to flourish, party leaders said. </b>
The blasts, coming as they do against the backdrop of aggressive Muslim mobilisation across UP in recent days over the Danish cartoons and the Bush visit, has provided the Sangh Parivar ample ammunition to attack both the Central and UP governments.
While VHPâs Praveen Togadia described the terrorist attack as ââa war against the Indian nation,ââ BJP leader V K Malhotra said it was a direct result of the ââencouragement to Muslim fundamentalismââ by the state and the Centre.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Leader of Opposition L K Advani said the ââgeneral atmosphere created in the past few days has only strengthened the fundamentalist forcesââ adding that he had told US President George Bush only last week that terrorism had far from abated in India.
But more important, Advani said, was the ââgeneral attitude of political partiesââ as evident in the ââdistressing spectacle in Lok Sabha yesterday when the UPA and its allies were vying with one another on who can promote minorityism moreââ on the issue of the Banerjee committee report. ââI wish these political parties realised that no one is going to benefit from this votebank minorityismâneither the minorities themselves, nor the parties indulging in it, and certainly not the country.ââ
While that was for the record, Sangh Parivar insiders view the latest development as an opportunity. Their calculation is that the BJP, which has declined considerably in UP over the last few years, would benefit from a communal polarisation in the state.
A similar polarisation in the early 1990s helped Hindutva forces transcend the differences of caste that lies at the root of UPâs politics of identity. <b>The party has not been able to revive that ââHindu unityââ since, but is now hoping that a replay of the ââMullah Mulayamââ theme could work</b>.
The Congress, which like the BJP had demanded the resignation of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Presidentâs rule in UP following the recent Allahabad verdict on the defection of BSP MLAs, has decided to refrain from reiterating that demand just yet.
Echoing Sonia Gandhiâs appeal for ââsocial harmony and peaceââ, UPCC president Salman Khursheed told The Indian Express that ââthis is no time to point fingers at each other, this is a time to stand together and work together for peace.ââ
Underlying his words was the fear of communal violence breaking out in Uttar Pradesh where the atmosphere has been tense for the past many days. The riots last week in Lucknow which left four dead and the long-simmering tension in eastern UP ever since BJP MLA from Ghazipur Krishnanand Rai was shot dead have only reinforced apprehensions of a flare-up stoked by mischievous elements in both communities.
While the Congress and Left parties are expected to back the Mulayam government in this hour of crisis, a more sober review of the latest manifestation of ââMuslim rageââ could also be on the cards.
The UPA government and its allies are beginning to harbour misgivings about the manner in which <span style='color:red'>Muslim rage is being manufactured on the streets through such calls as the one issued by UP minister Yakub Qureishi to kill the Danish cartoonist</span>.
Such rash acts, they feel, not only provide a plank for the revival of Hindutva but also harm the interests of <b>millions of ordinary Muslims who were beginning to feel more secure after the exit of the BJP-led NDA from power</b>. Todayâs blasts could well provide a starting point for a debate on how to protect the legitimate interests of minorities without pandering to the more aggressive and extremist elements among them.
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DDM can never stop using scare tactics. It doesn't matter whether majority feel secure or not, but Minority should be able to insert thumb inside majority throat.
The reactions have all been predictable and there is no dearth of morons among Hindus who claim that this is a simple law and order problem and that conversion of Muslims to Hinduism will not solve it (and promptly blaming Pakis so that we can avoid recognising the other culprits in our midst), well with such people after a 1000 years of slavery I see India going nowhere, the first step to a solution is to recognise the problem and since majority of Hindus are morons and refuse to even recognise it these attacks will continue until India breaks up thanks to Muslim breeding, well I atleast hope these traitor Hindus will suffer the most horrible death during those riots that will inevitably happen.
These so called secular half Hindus live in a much secured area. I challenge them to stay in Muslim majority or over 35% Muslim area, they will learn life time lesson very quick.
Situation is very tense in Meerut, hindu dominated cities in Punjab, Varnasi other sensitive area.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/08blast.htm
Hours after blasts, LeT ultra killed in Lucknow
March 08, 2006 10:01 IST
Hours after the blasts in Varanasi, a suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant was shot dead in an encounter with the police in Gosaiganj area on the outskirts of the city early Wednesday morning.
Police identified the militant as Salar alias Doctor and did not rule out his involvement in Tuesday's blasts at the Sankat Mochan temple and cantonment railway station in Varanasi, which claimed at least twenty lives.
RDX and some detonators were from his possession after the encounter with the Special Task Force, police sources said.
Sources said Salar, a Pakistani, was involved in the conspiracy to carry out a suicide attack at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, which was foiled by the timely tip off by central security agencies. Police were on the lookout for him for quite some time, the sources said, adding that he was also involved in the Republic Day terrorist attack in Jaipur.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hours after blasts, LeT ultra killed in Lucknow<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This reaction bothers me lot, why they were killed later, what the hell police was doing before that. I know they will say we were keeping eye on their activities and after incidence its better to kill one or two to bring confidence. Heck it brings suspicion not confidence. Now you will see more news, couple of so-called LeT or Jash will be killed in every city and after that back to business, enjoying parties at politiciansâ residence.
That is why Indian Police is laughing stock and CID/IB is a joke.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Press Release:
ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN MUSLIMS OF AMERICA
PO Box 10654, Silver Spring, MD 20914.
The Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) categorically condemns
the horrible bomb blasts in several locations in Varanasi , India today. In
this regard AIM fully endorses the below statement of Jamiat-Ulema-I-Hind ,
a premier and widely respected organization of India's Muslims, condemning
the said bomb explosions.
<b>Kaleem Kawaja</b>
President
Association of Indian Muslims of America
March 7, 2006
______________________________________________________
<b>Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind condemns Varanasi blasts</b>
New Delhi, March 7. (PTI): Condemning the twin bomb blasts in Varanasi today as a shameful act, the prominent Muslim body Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind (JUIH) appealed to people to exercise restraint.
"It is a shameful act and must be condemned in one voice by the whole nation. We express our grief and condole the death of such large number of innocent people," JUIH General Secretary Mahmood A Madani said in a release today.
"Any violence especially in a place of worship is condemnable," he said.
"We demand from the law enforcement agencies to deploy every possible means to provide immediate relief and security to the affected people and take full precautionary measures to maintain peace and public order," he said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was waiting for press release and here it came with new endrosement JUIH.
JUIH's major demand or wish to have Muslim pocket all over India.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Jamiat seeks reservation for minorities in Parliament </b>
New Delhi, May 30,2005 (PTI): <b>The Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind on Sunday demanded reservation for Muslims in Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and Government jobs and extended support to the 'model nikahnama' prepared by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. </b>
At the end of its 28th All India General Session held here, the Jamiat adopted a series of resolutions, which included demand for removal of restrictions on reservations based on religion, passing a Riot Prevention Act and immediate release of those arrested under POTA.
<b>Claiming that minority people are being harassed in Assam, the meeting, chaired by the Jamiat president Maulana Asaad Madani, termed the backlash against illegal migrants in the State as "plan to turn the State into another Gujarat."
During the two-day General Session of the Jamiat, Ulamas from all parts of the country held talks on various matters concerning the community, which included protection of women's rights, constitutional status to Minority Educational Commission, compensation to the victims of communal riots, sacrilege of holy Koran by the US forces.</b>
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000...Parliament <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Within year UPA had fulfilled JUIH's every single demand in letter and spirit
1) demand for removal of restrictions on reservations based on religion <b>(DONE)</b>
2) passing a Riot Prevention Act <b>(DONE)</b>
3) immediate release of those arrested under POTA <b>(In PROCESS)</b>
4) Claiming that minority people are being harassed in Assam <b>(DONE)</b>
5) constitutional status to Minority Educational Commission<b> (DONE)</b>
6) compensation to the victims of communal riots <b>(DONE)</b>
7) Jobs in every government and private institution <b>(In PROCESS)</b>
<b>What else they had promised. </b>
All above will guarantee Muslim votes to Congress.
But now muslims are <b>getting involved in foreign policy</b> which is a big shock for Sonia and that is why yesterday she called emergeny meeting before blast.
I think she thought she had bought votes and silence from Mullahs and muslims and now this back stab during Bush visit.
Now not only they had lost Muslim votes but even fence sitter Hindus vote.
The UPA with Antonia Maino is India's version of Alberto Fujimori. They just want to ripoff whatever they can get their hands on.
rajivg,
I think Sonia had made deal with JHUI, suddenly they were propped up, before that they were nothing. She had created Muslim leadership.
AMU is providing moral/hidden support to JHUI.
We need to dig more to find out who are JHUI and its connection with other foreign bodies. I know they are linked with Pakistan JUI but we need more info on them.
She is playing same game what Indira did with Bhinderwala.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Kalam condoles Maulana Asad Madani
Feb 09, 2006
NEW DELHI: President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam has condoled the passing away of Maulana Asad Madani, president of the Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind.
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JHUI president is dead and who is Mahmood A Madani?
Link
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Last year, Rehman missed becoming prime minister of Pakistan by one vote to Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. Added to his political clout, the Maulana heads the network that controls most of the madrasas (Islamic religious schools) in Pakistan. Rehman has been elected thrice to the Pakistan National Assembly since 1988.
<b>His father Maulana Mufti Mahmoud was an Islamic scholar and politician who was chief minister of the North West Frontier Province in the 1970s. Mufti believed Partition was wrong and is remembered for his famous quip â which still haunts the JUI â after East Pakistan became Bangladesh: 'We were not a party to the crime of creating Pakistan.'</b>
Because of his pedigree, Rehman was welcomed in India. Moreover, he has rarely spewed rhetorical statements about Kashmir, something not missed by the Indians.
<b>His hosts in India were Maulana Asad Madani and his son, Maulvi Mehmood Madani. Asad is president and Mehmood, general secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, which is based in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh. Asad's father, Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani, was well known during the freedom struggle for his opposition to Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the latter's call for Pakistan. The JUH has since been a strong supporter of the Congress, though it is now believed that after the Gujarat riots, it is reconsidering its position.</b>
By inviting Rehman over to India a year before elections are due, it would appear that the JUH has done the Bharatiya Janata Party a favour. Around a month ago, the JUH had sought a green signal from the Vajpayee government to invite Rehman, Mehmood Madani told rediff.com
................................
<b>Rehman's host, Mehmood Madani, scoffed rumours of a hidden agenda. "He [Rehman] came to create peace between the two nations. He didn't come to talk to Muslims on Ayodhya but if VHP and RSS leaders are impressed by his peace message, Muslims of India will also get the right message."</b>
Madani accepted that to a certain extent, issues between India and Pakistan and disputes between Hindus and Muslims in India are inter-linked.
Not all in the VHP have welcomed Rehman. VHP leader Dr Pravin Togadia sees a hidden agenda concerning Ayodhya.<b> "The Muslim elite in India want to settle the Ayodhya issue. They want to get fundamentalist Muslims to agree to hand over the site to Hindus. Who can make the fundamentalist Indian Muslims settle the issue but a bigger fundamentalist?" </b>he said.
Madani dismisses Togadia's allegations as baseless.
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<!--QuoteBegin-Aryawan+Mar 8 2006, 04:57 AM-->QUOTE(Aryawan @ Mar 8 2006, 04:57 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->I was planning to visit Varanasi <!--emo& --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I don't know when I will be able to go!!!
[right][snapback]48095[/snapback][/right]
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i was in varanasi, in those same places where the blasts took place (dasawamedh ghat, sankat mochan temple and godhulia) last fortnight !!
<b>Govt suspects Lashkar hand in Varanasi blasts</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, including one believed to be involved in Tuesday's twin blasts in Varanasi, were <b>killed in separate encounters in Delhi and Lucknow on Wednesday morning</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Yazdani, a Bangladeshi national, and his colleague were gunned down in Bawana area by a team of Special Cell sleuths in an encounter at around 5.45 am, Joint Commissioner (special cell) Karnal Singh said.
<b>One AK-56 assault rifle, two Czheck-made Lugar pistols, four grenades, four kg PETN explosive, fake currency with the face value of Rs 47,000, and a Bangladeshi sim card were recovered from their possession.</b>
Several rounds of ammunition was also recovered from the duo.
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Govt is too quick to identify criminals, did they told them in advance or what? What kind of investigation they do?
Why they were sleeping before incidence or they killed other illegals to cover there own a$$.
Mudy do you really think these ppl were the real planner ..
This is all hogwash.
PS: But this time the secular human rights walla wont shreik fake encounter... if anybody remembers Ansal Plaze encounter and what happened thereafter.
Bhootnath,
Right now these secular walla are ruling country, how quiet they are. They are even silent after nuclear deal.
Yet to see any article on any issue. One can find more articles/editorial on last week Goa issue.
Delhi encounter team is on vacation since UPA came to power. Rest I will watch.
I think Congress had made deal with JUI and JHUI that you give us Ayodhya and we will give muslims more rights. It will be win-win situation for Congress.
Even the Mumbai encounter team has been disassembled. It seems criminals/terrrorists are getting a free hand in Delhi and Mumbai. The Ulta Pulta Alliance and Antonia Maino are making a faustian bargain if they deal with JUI and JHUI.
Next target: <b>HARIDWAR</b>
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