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VHP yatra: Ashok Singhal detained at Lucknow airport; Praveen Togadia among 500 arrested

August 25, 2013

Ashok_Singhal

Ayodhya/ New Delhi, Aug 25: Senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal has been detained at Lucknow airport and is likely to be sent back to Delhi, according to TV reports.

Clamping down on the proposed yatra, the UP govt also arrested senior VHP leader Praveen Togadia on Sunday morning after he defied prohibitory orders.

Togadia was arrested from Gola ghat in Ayodhya.

Earlier, setting the stage for a confrontation with the UP government, VHP inaugurated its controversial yatra from Ayodhya amidst a massive crackdown launched by the administration which has arrested over 500 people including a former BJP MP and a sitting MLA.

Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Committee chairman Mahant Nritya Gopaldas kick-started the yatra from Maniram Chawani (akhada) in Ayodhya but was briefly detained by the police.

"We have inaugurated the yatra. But this yatra should not be politicised. It is carried out all 12 months (not time bound)," Gopaldas said.

Ahead of the start of the yatra, former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti and sitting MLA Ram Chandra Yadav were arrested early on Sunday.

Vedanti was arrested around 7am when he had left his house here for the parikrama, police said, adding MLA Ram Chandra Yadav was also arrested from here.

The town has been under heavy security cover as VHP declared that it will go ahead with the yatra, which has been banned by the ruling Samajwadi Party government fearing a communal flare-up.

A curfew-like situation is prevailing in the town as shops have been shut and Naya Ghat area has been cordoned off.

Cracking down on the yatra, police have already arrested over 500 VHP supporters and office bearers from across the state.

"Over 500 persons going to participate in the yatra have been arrested from across the state, where tight security arrangements are in place to prevent the proposed yatra. Anyone going for the yatra will be arrested as it has been banned by the government," ADG, law and order Arun Kumar said.

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Agencies
July 23,2020

Ayodhya, Jul 23: All 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case should be invited to the "bhumi pujan" ceremony for the construction of the Ram temple here and honoured, a Hindutva outfit leader has said.

Hindu Dharma Sena president Santosh Dubey is one of the main accused in the case.

Dubey also insisted that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust must also invite all the four Shankaracharyas to the ceremony planned on August 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to attend the event.

"The office bearers of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra must ensure that along with all 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case, the families of the kar sevaks who gave their lives in the Ram Temple movement must also be invited to the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony and must be honoured there," Dubey told PTI.

The top court verdict in favour of the Ram temple at the site would not have been possible had the Babri mosque not been demolished, he said.

"If the Trust does not invite the kar sevaks, it will a display of ego and arrogance. Without inviting the kar sevaks who have been accused in Babri mosque demolition and the families of the slain kar sevaks, the 'bhumi pujan' will remain incomplete," Dubey added.

A special CBI court in Lucknow is recording the statements of the 32 Babri demolition accused under section 313 of the CrPC, which enables them to plead their innocence, if they so want.

The court is conducting day-to-day hearings to complete the trial by August 31 as directed by the Supreme Court.

The mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992 by 'kar sevaks' who claimed that an ancient Ram temple had stood on the same site. Former deputy prime minister L K Advani and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi were leading the Ram temple movement at that time.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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Agencies
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: AAP MLA and national spokesperson Atishi has tested positive for COVID-19, her party colleagues said on Wednesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to wish her speedy recovery.

"Atishi ji has played an important role in the fight against corona. I hope that she will get healthy soon and again get involved in serving the people," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

According to sources, Atishi was tested on Tuesday for COVID-19 and her report came positive today.

She is presently under home quarantine, the sources said.

"Get well soon Atishi, recover soon from Corona," AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted.

Atishi represents Kalkaji assembly constituency.

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