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New Terror Offensive:TALIBAN MOVING INTO KASHMIR?, by Insaf 8 April 2009 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 8 April 2009

New Terror Offensive

TALIBAN MOVING INTO KASHMIR?

By Insaf

Jammu and Kashmir appears to be in the throes of a new terror offensive by the jihadis from across Pakistan. The past week has seen a huge increase in infiltration attempts by well-equipped and hardcore militants, some of whom are feared to belong to the fundamentalist Taliban, presently causing mayhem in Pakistan. Two militants were killed again by the Indian Army in Kupwara. But another 30, including 25 from Taliban, seem to have slipped in through the thick forests in Gurez, close to the LoC. The incident pattern, however, is different from previous years on two counts. One, the infiltration bid has started earlier this year, much before the snow in the passes has melted. Two, larger groups of 20-30 militants are trying to infiltrate together in one go, unlike previous attempts to sneak across in smaller numbers.

While police sources claim that intercepted conversation suggests presence of Taliban militants, the Army says the infiltrators are from Lashkar-e-Tayaba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Al-Badr groups, hailing from Pakistan’s Punjab, PoK and NWFP areas. However, there are well-established links between militant outfits operating in J&K and the growing Taliban movement along the Af-Pak border. Given the situation, the oft-repeated demand by the local leaders to reduce the Army’s presence in the Valley is ill founded. In fact, there is need for stronger Central intervention. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah needs to read the Constitution (and Nehru’s speeches) when he says that “no government in New Delhi has the power to abrogate J&K’s special status (Article 370).”  Part XXI of the Constitution clearly states that Article 370 is only a “Temporary provision”.  

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Assam Rocked By Blasts

With just little over a week left for polling, Assam is in the throes of security turmoil. On Monday last, the State was again rocked by serial blasts killing 10 people and injuring over 60. The blasts came a day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to his ‘home state’ for electioneering. Shockingly, the blasts are the third this year coinciding with the visit of VVIPs to the State. On January 1 there were three blasts before Home Minister P Chidambaram’s visit, which left 5 killed and 60 injured.  And on March 31 there was a blast in Guwahati, claiming one life and leaving 13 injured not long before Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee was to address an election meeting. The needle of suspicion is clearly on the ULFA which marked its 30th Raising Day on Tuesday last. The Home Ministry has put the State on maximum alert. But the people are wholly dissatisfied and are, in fact, livid with anger.

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Sikhs Protests Yield Results

Angry protests by Sikhs in Delhi and Punjab over the clean chit given by the CBI to Congress MP and a prominent face behind the 84 riots, Jagdish Tytler, have yielded unexpected results. A rattled Congress on Thursday last withdrew the nomination of Tytler and his colleague Sajjan Kumar for the Lok Sabha poll from North West Delhi and South Delhi respectively. The pressure on the party had been mounting since early this week when hundreds of Sikhs held up several trains in Punjab and protested outside the Congress office in Jalandhar and on the streets of Delhi demanding justice for the anti-Sikh riots 25 years ago. However, it cracked the whip on the two MPs after a journalist Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram during the latter’s Press Conference in the capital on Tuesday last. Jarnail has become a ‘hero’ amongst the Akalis and has additionally, been offered a Lok Sabha ticket from Amritsar by the Akali Dal led by SS Mann, a job in case he lost his, and a reward of Rs two lakhs.

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Rajasthan CM’s Magic Majority

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot staged a silent coup last week by getting all six MLAs of the BSP to cross over to his Congress party. Not only has he got the BSP supremo Mayawati worried about keeping her flock together, but more importantly ensured himself the magic majority in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. The BSP MLAs who had expressed their desire to join the Congress soon after the Assembly poll said they ‘believed it was the right time and the right step so that the party may win maximum seats in the parliamentary elections.’ With their entry into the party on Saturday last, Gehlot’s strength in the Assembly has gone up to 102 members and assured a steady and stable government in the State.  A jubilant Chief Minister obviously has got the much-needed spark just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.  

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Modi Poll On Black Money

Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a novel way to whip up public support for getting back into India lakhs of crores of black money stashed away in Swiss and other foreign banks, an issue raised by L K Advani. He has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to find out the names of the Indians, specially those from Gujarat, who had parked black money in tax havens abroad. More importantly, the BJP Chief Minister has decided to hold opinion polls across the State next week and involve about 50 lakh people in the exercise. Accordingly, polling will be undertaken in 2000 booths spread over all parliamentary constituencies. Chits would be given with four or five questions such as ‘do you feel that black money should be used for the uplift of the poor.’ The replies would have to be either a yes or no. Counting would be held under the supervision of an eminent citizen from every parliamentary constituency.

Security Beef-Up for 11 CMs

In a recent advisory to police chiefs of different States, the Centre has suggested that additional security be provided to 11 Chief Ministers in view of threats to them from terrorists and naxalites. The CMs are: Gujarat’s Narendra Modi,  Madhya Pradesh’s  Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chhattisgarh’s Raman Singh, West Bengal’s Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Uttar Pradesh’s Mayawati, Orissa’s Naveen Patnaik, Maharashtra’s Ashok Chavan, J&K’s Omar Abdullah, Punjab’s Parkash Singh Badal, Manipur’s Okram Ibobi Singh and Assam’s Tarun Gogoi. The police chiefs have also been asked to hold an “advanced security liaising” with officers from the IB in coordination with local police given that the VVIPs movement during electioneering. This apart, the Home Ministry has asked 40-odd senior politicians, including Sonia Gandhi, Mulayam singh Yadav, Jayalalitha and Farooq Abdullah to take “adequate security precautions” during the polls.

‘Gold Darshan’ For Tirupati Voters

Voters, especially women are in for a pleasant surprise in Tirupati. Instead of the traditional gifts such as saris, rings and nose pins offered to them in the previous elections, this time around they are being wooed with gold. A candidate has decided to distribute a 2 gm gold-coated dollar emblem of Lord Balaji, costing Rs 3000, to number of women voters, particularly in slums and rural areas. Other than this, the over 2.3 lakh electorate in this temple town is being offered free cellar darshan tickets (Rs 100 each) once a week, if elected. Another lordly promise being made is of performing free weddings of all girls, willing to get married in the Lord’s abode, if voted to power. In the end, it would be worth watching which candidate is showered with the Lord’s blessings. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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