08-09-2005, 07:12 PM
Congress leaders conspired in Bhagalpur riots: book:-
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Patna, July 13 : Congress leaders had vested interests in allowing the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots to flare up, party veteran and former Bihar chief minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha has alleged in his new book.
"Meri Yaden, Meri Bhool" has been penned by Sinha, who headed the Bihar government at the time of the <span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>riots that killed around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims</span>.
Sinha, a leader of the upper caste Rajput community who turned 89 this week, blames three powerful Congress leaders, including two former chief ministers, for the spread of the riots.
He wonders how the Ram Shila Pujan Yatra was allowed to pass through a Muslim dominated locality in Bhagalpur district, triggering violence across the district.
Sinha states in his book how an Indian Administrative Officer (IAS), Ashok Kumar Singh, was sent by him to control the riots but was forced to keep away and pushed into relief work. He says some other officials deputed to control the riots were similarly diverted for other work.
His disclosures may create a new controversy over the Bhagalpur riots with assembly polls due in the state in October-November.
Sinha said: "The book is a chapter of my life, it reflects what Bihar was in the past and what it is today.
"I wrote the book honestly. Some people might feel offended but I have written it without any malice to anyone," he said at the function.
The book was released by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee at a function attended by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for IT Shakeel Ahmad, Governor Buta Singh and a host of MPs and leaders cutting across party lines.
Sinha is the father of former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who is now a Congress MP from Aurangabad.
(IANS)
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Patna, July 13 : Congress leaders had vested interests in allowing the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots to flare up, party veteran and former Bihar chief minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha has alleged in his new book.
"Meri Yaden, Meri Bhool" has been penned by Sinha, who headed the Bihar government at the time of the <span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>riots that killed around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims</span>.
Sinha, a leader of the upper caste Rajput community who turned 89 this week, blames three powerful Congress leaders, including two former chief ministers, for the spread of the riots.
He wonders how the Ram Shila Pujan Yatra was allowed to pass through a Muslim dominated locality in Bhagalpur district, triggering violence across the district.
Sinha states in his book how an Indian Administrative Officer (IAS), Ashok Kumar Singh, was sent by him to control the riots but was forced to keep away and pushed into relief work. He says some other officials deputed to control the riots were similarly diverted for other work.
His disclosures may create a new controversy over the Bhagalpur riots with assembly polls due in the state in October-November.
Sinha said: "The book is a chapter of my life, it reflects what Bihar was in the past and what it is today.
"I wrote the book honestly. Some people might feel offended but I have written it without any malice to anyone," he said at the function.
The book was released by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee at a function attended by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for IT Shakeel Ahmad, Governor Buta Singh and a host of MPs and leaders cutting across party lines.
Sinha is the father of former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who is now a Congress MP from Aurangabad.
(IANS)
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