Terror has no religion, says BJP; slams PDP MLAs' demand for return of Afzal Guru's remains

March 3, 2015

New Delhi, Mar 3: Day-old Jammu and Kashmir government was hit by another row Monday when a group of PDP MLAs demanded that the Centre hand over the remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to his Kashmir-based family.

Afzal GuruBJP has condemned the demand made by the group, asking its ally to shun "this type of politics".

The party asserted that it practises zero tolerance on terrorism. On a day the BJP government was forced in Parliament to disassociate itself with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's comments crediting Pakistan and militants for peaceful polls in the state, the ruling party again had to defend itself over the Guru controversy later in the evening.

"Terror has no religion. We condemn this type of politics. Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and the whole country should unite to root this out. BJP believes in zero tolerance to terrorism," BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma told PTI.

The BJP-led NDA was in power when the audacious attack on December 13, 2001 left 14 people dead.

“PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) has always maintained that late Afzal Guru’s hanging was travesty of justice and constitutional requirements/process was not followed in hanging him out of turn,” the MLAs said.

The PDP-BJP government got off to a rocky start Sunday when chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed thanked Pakistan and militant outfits for smooth conduct of polls in the state within hours of taking oath.

The BJP distanced itself from the PDP patron’s remarks but came under Opposition fire in Parliament.

In Srinagar more trouble was brewing. “PDP stands by the demand for return of his (Guru’s) mortal remains, and the party promises to follow vigorously for the return of the mortal remains,” eight PDP MALs said in a statement.

Guru, 43, was hanged and buried in Delhi’s Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013 by the previous UPA government.

Guru’s family has alleged that the Centre didn’t inform them and they got to know about the hanging from TV and the state government. The hanging remains an emotive issue and figured prominently during campaigning.

The PDP MLAs also said an assembly resolution brought in 2011 to seek clemency for Guru should have been adopted.

“The way he was picked up from serial no.28 and singled out has been condemned by the PDP…” they said.

Former CM and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah took another jibe at the PDP. “Has Mufti decided the Modi-Mufti accord was a mistake? Are the father-daughter duo trying to force BJP to break off the alliance?” he tweeted.

Bitter rivals, the PDP and the BJP held marathon talks over two months and climbed down from their stated position before sealing the deal.

Not just ideologies but their support bases also sets apart the two unlikely partners who would be tempted to play to gallery to humour their voters, observers say.

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July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: Jet fuel or ATF price on Wednesday was hiked by 7.5 per cent, the third increase in a month, while petrol and diesel rates were unchanged for the second day in a row.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs 2,922.94 per kilolitre (kl), or 7.48 per cent, to Rs 41,992.81 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification by state-owned oil marketing companies.

This is the third straight increase in ATF prices in a month. Rates were hiked by a record 56.6 per cent (Rs 12,126.75 per kl) on June 1, followed by Rs 5,494.5 per kl (16.3 per cent) increase on June 16.

Simultaneously, non-subsidised cooking gas LPG rates were increased by Re 1 to Rs 594 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital. Prices were up by Rs 4 in other metros mostly because of different local sales tax or VAT rate.

On the other hand, petrol and diesel prices were unchanged for the second day in a row.

This, after diesel rates scaled a new high after prices were hiked 22 times in just over three weeks.

In Delhi, a litre of petrol comes for Rs 80.43 per litre, while diesel is priced at Rs 80.53 per litre.

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

While the diesel price had been hiked on 22 occasions since June 7, petrol price had been raised on 21 occasions.

The cumulative increase since the oil companies started the cycle on June 7 totals to Rs 9.17 for petrol and Rs 11.14 for diesel.

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News Network
March 20,2020

New Delhi, Mar 20: The government on Thursday said one Indian who tested positive for coronavirus has died in Iran while the other citizens infected with the disease are being provided treatment and taken care of by the Iranian government.

Noting that the virus tends to be more fatal for those whose immunity levels are low, a senior MEA official said the deceased, an elderly person, belonged to the vulnerable age group and had health-related complications.

The death was not because of lack of medical attention or care, he said.

"We have evacuated 590 people from Iran where the situation is very severe. The Indians infected with coronavirus in Iran have been segregated and taken care of very well by the government there. We believe they will recover and we will bring them back," the MEA official said, adding that 201 Indians were evacuated from Iran on Wednesday.

The official said closely knit families required some persuasion and counselling during the process of segregation to prevent the spread of the contagion.

The Indian ambassador and other officials explained the consequences of infected people not being separated from their families and were successful to a large extent in segregating the positive cases from the negative ones, he said.

"Some pilgrims and students are still there and our embassy and mission are in control (of the situation)," the official said.

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News Network
February 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 29: Amid the raging communal violence in the entire north-east Delhi earlier this week, there were people who were trying to save persons and families from the "other community" from the fury of the mobs of their own community.

Naeem Ali Pradhan, 34, from Shiv Vihar, helped at least 7-8 Hindus on the night of February 24 -- when the violence was at its peak-- escape to safer locations. Shiv Vihar is one of the worst affected areas in the violence.

According to Naeem Ali, that night mobs attacked dozens of shops on the road and later tried to enter inside the residential areas.

Suddenly, he spotted a group of youth who were looking hassled and frantically asking for directions.

"I saw them. Thye were Hindus who were trying to escape a mob looking to target them. They had lost their way inside the streets of our colony. I along with other Muslim men escorted them to the nearby Hindu locality," Naeem, who is also a member of the Aman Committee constituted by the Delhi police, told ANI.

"Several shops which were on the roads including some showrooms were attacked by a group. These Hindus were worried as a mob which was on the main road was attacking people. They asked me the address of a colony as they were unable to find their way," Naeem said.

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