Gujarat Riots - News from The Hindu (Archives) part I

57 killed as mob torches train in Gujarat (FEB. 27 2002)

By Manas Dasgupta

Bodies of those killed in the attack on the Sabarmati Express kept near a burnt coach in Godhra on Wednesday. - Reuters

GANDHINAGAR, FEB. 27. Fifty-seven persons, mostly women and children, were killed and 43 sustained burn injuries when a coach of the Faizabad-Ahmedabad Sabarmati Express carrying `Ram sevaks' was set afire by a group of people on the outskirts of the Godhra railway station, about 200 km from here, this morning. The `Ram sevaks' were returning from Ayodhya.

The incident led to tension in other parts of the State as a relief train, carrying passengers of the affected train, reached these stations on the way to Ahmedabad. At least two persons were stabbed to death in the Anand and Baroda railway stations, from where three more incidents were reported. Two incidents of stabbing were reported in the Ahmedabad railway station and in the Meghaninagar locality despite heavy police bandobust. A municipal bus was set afire in the labour-dominated Bapunagar locality of Ahmedabad. A dozen cases of arson were also reported from here.

VHP calls for bandh

An indefinite curfew has been clamped in Godhra town and a ``shoot at sight'' order issued following the incident. The authorities are keeping their fingers crossed in view of a call by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and its sister organisations for a `Gujarat Bandh' tomorrow to protest against the ``ghastly'' incident. The State Government has appealed to the people to maintain peace.

The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, who rushed to the spot along with the Minister of State for Home, Gordhan Jhadaphiya, and the Health Minister, Ashok Bhatt, said the Government had ordered a ``high-level inquiry''.

Making a brief statement in the Assembly, which is holding its budget session, Mr. Modi condemned the incident and said he had spoken with the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee. He also announced an immediate compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased.

Attack was planned?

Mr. Modi hinted at the possibility of the attack being a ``planned'' one, pointing out that the train was ``attacked'' at the Godhra railway platform, where it halts for only about three minutes.

Even as conflicting reports about the sequence of events kept pouring in, the Home Secretary, K. Nityanandam, said a group of people had thrown stones at the train as soon as it halted at Godhra, forcing the passengers to bolt the doors from inside. As soon as the train left the platform, it stopped in the yard, which the railway authorities said was because someone had pulled the chain. It was not clear who pulled the chain, but someone from the attackers having climbed into the train before it left the platform is not ruled out.

As the train stopped, the miscreants virtually gheraoed the train and a flurry of stones poured in on the passengers. One of the coaches was doused with petrol and kerosene brought from a nearby petrol pump and set on fire. Also, burning rags were thrown in through the windows. The fire soon spread to at least four contiguous coaches, forcing many passengers to jump out. Those who could not - some 25 women and 15 children - perished in the fire.

Eyewitnesses said that about 1,200 `Ram sevaks' were travelling in the train. The local people in the Muslim-dominated Godhra town had been ``irritated'' by the ``abusive language'' used by the `Ram sevaks' while they were going to Ayodhya by the same train a few days ago. They had reportedly raised slogans as the train approached Godhra on the return journey this morning.

Senior police and railway officials, who rushed to the spot, found it difficult to recover the bodies, most of which were charred beyond recognition. The authorities said they had estimated the number of dead by merely counting the bones, adding that the exact number was not known immediately.

A relief train was sent from Ahmedabad and the State Government arranged for 30 State buses to carry the stranded passengers to their destinations. The Home Minister said the Government was taking necessary steps to ensure that the disturbances did not spread during the bandh tomorrow.

PTI reports:

Among the injured in the attack were 31 men, nine women and three children. Of them, 20 passengers, who sustained serious burns were admitted to a hospital at Godhra, Mr. Nityanandam said.

One of the coaches of the 18-bogie train was completely gutted. Two coaches were detached at the Godhra station while the train with the rest of the coaches arrived at Ahmedabad.

Mr. Vajpayee, who spoke with Mr. Modi over phone from New Delhi, has asked him to firmly deal with the situation arising out of the attack. The Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, has also spoken to Mr. Modi.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/02/28/stories/2002022803070100.htm

140 killed as Gujarat bandh turns violent (FEB. 28 2002)

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, FEB. 28. At least 140 people were killed, 60 of them burnt alive in two housing colonies here today, as mob frenzy reached its crescendo during the ``Gujarat bandh'' called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and supported by the ruling BJP in protest against Wednesday's torching of the Sabarmati Express.

At least 30 others were killed in police firing, stabbing and other incidents in different parts of the city while the casualty in other cities and towns in the State was put at over 50.

Shops and business establishments belonging to Muslims were targeted by mobs. About 40 were feared killed when 15 houses in ``Gulmarg'' Society in Meghaninagar locality here were set afire. At least 20 people were feared trapped in a building set ablaze in Naroda industrial area.

Among the deceased in the Gulmarg Society carnage was the former Congress member of the Lok Sabha, Ehsan Jafri, and his entire family. The Home Secretary, K. Nityanandam, confirmed the torching of the Gulmarg Society, but said he was not sure if Mr. Jafri was among the victims.

Police have recovered some 20 bodies from the Society and at least 15 more are believed to be inside the burning houses. At Naroda, efforts are being made to put off the fire before the recovery of bodies could start.

The authorities said the toll in the day's orgy of violence in Ahmedabad alone could be at least 90. The number of cases of looting and arson, particularly of the minority shops and business establishments, was officially put at 118 in Ahmedabad but the authorities admitted that they had lost count.

The authorities, for obvious reasons, refused to confirm the burning of a mosque in Surat city, the attack on the Islamic Study Centre in Baroda and the torching of the Waqf Board office in the old secretariat building in Gandhinagar. But eyewitness accounts confirmed the incidents.

The Army units, frantically called by the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, as the situation seemed to slip out of hand, started arriving in Ahmedabad and are likely to be deployed in the city on Friday.

At least five people were killed in Viramgam and four in Baroda where the house of a leading Muslim social activist was attacked. Six were killed in Derol town near Godhra. Till evening, police fired 46 rounds in Ahmedabad, in which at least 10 persons were believed to have been killed. The toll in the torching of the Sabarmati Express, meanwhile, had risen to 58 with the recovery of the body of a child late last night.

An indefinite curfew has been clamped in 26 cities and towns in the State, including parts of Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Nadiad, Anand and Kaira in addition to the indefinite curfew in force in Godhra since Wednesday. The skyline of Ahmedabad and Baroda was filled with black smoke emanating from the burnt shops and cabins, discarded tyres to create road blockades as well as dozens of State road transport and city municipal service buses set afire by the miscreants.

For the first time in many years, the response to the bandh call was almost total in all cities with not even a single shop or roadside cabin, petrol pump or commercial establishment open. Hooligans forced the closure of most of the State and Central Government offices in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and other cities. All schools and colleges, cinemas and other establishments remained closed. Even the cable television operators, ``under instructions'' from the VHP, were forced to suspend telecast of all entertainment and sports channels, allowing only the news channels to function during the day.

The hooligans indulging in looting and arson had a field day with police either conspicuous by their absence or, outnumbered by the attackers, looking the other way. Journalists and cameramen were also attacked at many places and their equipment damaged.

It was also perhaps for the first time that the capital city of Gandhinagar witnessed violence with groups of people attacking even the old secretariat building housing the offices of many of the State Government-owned boards.

Several minority places of worship were made the specific target of the attacks. In Ahmedabad, a mausoleum in the middle of a road in Shahibagh locality, barely a few metres from the office of the city police commissioner was razed to the ground by the hooligans with the police vehicles passing by but refusing to intervene.

Mr. Modi, who described the train attack as a ``terrorist-type'' action, said the Government had ordered a judicial inquiry. by a retired judge of the Gujarat High Court. Mr. Modi said 80 people, including two local councillors of Godhra who were believed to be involved in the train attack and the owners of the two petrol pumps suspected to have supplied fuel to the attackers, had been arrested. Both the pumps have been sealed, he said and added that the Government would not hesitate to invoke POTO or the Prevention of Anti- Social Activities Act (PASA) against the Godhra attackers.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/01/stories/2002030103030100.htm

Shoot orders in many Gujarat towns, toll over 200 (MARCH 1 2002)

By Manas Dasgupta

A Hindu mob waves swords at an opposing Muslim mob during street battles in Ahmedabad on Friday. FACE OF FEAR: A Muslim seeks mercy from rioters. - Reuters

AHMEDABAD, MARCH 1. The Army began flag marches in the worst-affected areas of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot and Godhra cities and the `shoot at sight' order was extended to all 34 curfew-bound cities and towns in Gujarat as the orgy of violence in the aftermath of the Godhra train carnage continued unabated for the second day today.

The toll in the violence has been officially put at 136, including 119 deaths being reported from Ahmedabad city alone of which at least 17 people were killed in police firing. But unconfirmed reports put the toll at over 200 with more bodies still being extricated from the minority housing colonies set ablaze in Meghaninagar and Naroda localities on Thursday.

Five persons were killed in police firing during fresh incidents of violence in the labour-dominated Bapunagar locality where at least five persons were burnt alive in a car in one of the gruesome incidents during the day. Eight persons were burnt alive in their car on the outskirts of Juhapura locality. A policeman was stabbed to death and his body set afire by a mob in Naroda locality.

The official sources admitted that the casualty in the Meghaninagar and Naroda burning incidents was much higher than originally estimated and so far over 105 bodies had been recovered from Gulmarg society in Meghaninagar and Naroda which alone accounted for at least 65 deaths. But hospital sources said at least 163 burnt bodies had been recovered from the two places in one of the worst-ever mass murder incidents in the history of the State since the 1969 riots.

The entire pandal of the Gujarat-Expo exhibition, where various State Governments and co-operative organisations had their stalls on the Gujarat University ground, was on fire. It, however, was not immediately clear whether the fire was accidental or was caused by some miscreants who looted the stalls.

The Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, however, claimed that the situation was ``improving'' and the intensity of violence was ``much less than what it was yesterday''. He was confident that the situation would be brought under control soon.

He claimed that despite the prevailing tension in the walled city and labour-dominated areas of Ahmedabad, the flag march had a ``salutary effect''. He said one Army brigade, airlifted from the border areas and which arrived early this morning, began flag march later in the day while another brigade was expected to arrive in the night. He said if the situation demanded, the Army would be deployed in the affected areas to help the civil authorities restore normalcy.

Though Gujarat was ``exempted'' from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's national bandh call for today, life remained paralysed in most parts of the State for the second day today because of the prevailing tension or due to the imposition of indefinite curfew. Even outside the curfew-bound areas in Ahmedabad, none of the shops, cabins and other business establishments were opened today. Banks, schools and colleges, cinema theatres and most other institutions remained closed while only a few private offices functioned with minimum staff.

Despite the imposition of indefinite curfew, sporadic incidents of violence, group clashes and stoning continued through out the night and during the day today in the walled city and labour-dominated eastern parts of Ahmedabad. But unlike Thursday when one community was entirely at the receiving end, the minority backlash caused further worsening of the situation.

Police presence had little impact on the two communities pelting stones at each other in Bapunagar, Gomtipur, Dariapur, Shahpur, Naroda and other areas from where incidents of firing had been reported. But there were no reports of casualty. Pitched battle was contin uing between the two communities late in the evening.

The official sources said timely arrival of the police foiled a retaliatory attempt to break into a prominent temple in Jamalpur locality in the walled city. But at least 15 places of worship of the minority community in Ahmedabad and some other parts of the State were vandalised and were converted overnight into `temples' during the last two days.

30 burnt alive

PTI reports

A Baroda report said 30 persons were burnt alive today at Pandarwal village in Panchamahal district of Gujarat, official sources said here. Curfew has been imposed in the area and rapid action force personnel have been deployed.

Killings in U.P., Rajasthan

A New Delhi report said three persons, including a teenager, were killed today as arson, communal clashes, demolition of shrines and police firing marred the 12-hour country-wide general strike called by the VHP.

Two persons belonging to minority community were killed in the communally-sensitive Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh triggering tension prompting authorities to deploy rapid action force.

A morning-walker was shot dead by unidentified assailants at the railway road and another stabbed to death at Naurangabad, police said.

A 16-year-old boy was killed when police fired to disperse warring communities near a place of worship at Simalwara town of Rajasthan's Dungarpur district.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/02/stories/2002030203050100.htm

Priority for controlling violence, says Advani (MARCH 1 2002)
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 1. The Government today seemed to be pointing the ``needle of suspicion'' as regards the Godhra incident on Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). This view was gaining ground as ``fomenting communal trouble'' was an important part of the ``overall ISI strategy,'' it was pointed out.

However, this view was clearly not shared by all in the Government for the Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, has firmly rejected such a hypothesis.

The ``ISI theory'' was not officially stated. As highly placed sources in the Government admitted that ``as yet'' they had ``no hard evidence'' to pinpoint ISI's involvement. It was the total circumstances of the terrorist strikes in India that the suspicion seemed to be based on.

Although reports did not as yet indicate a respite to Gujarat violence, the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, while talking informally with reporters, appeared confident that not only will the administration be able to bring back normality but the Ayodhya issue would also be resolved amicably. But, for the moment the top priority was controlling and containing the violence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party today was angry that the Opposition did not allow Parliament to function and had rejected a suggestion that all parties should adopt a ``joint statement'' in Parliament to help cool the communal temperature.

While stating that efforts were on to get the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to stop its 100-days ``yagna'' in Ayodhya, the BJP spokesperson, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, strongly criticised ``selective condemnation'' of the violent incidents by some parties. He virtually implied that had it not been for that, the situation in Gujarat could not have taken such a turn.

Mr. Malhotra said the Government had acted swiftly and there was no delay in deployment of the Army. Even during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi the Army was brought out after a few days, he pointed out.

It seems that after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the first time in the morning, the Speaker called a meeting of party leaders and the former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar, suggested that the Prime Minister call another all-party meeting - which was done - and that Parliament be allowed to function, the Home Minister be allowed to make a statement and afterwards a ``joint resolution'' be adopted condemning all violence and appealing for peace. Apparently, the Congress did not go along with the joint resolution idea.

It seems that after some heated arguments at the meeting where charges and counter charges were made, the decision was that Parliament would not be allowed to function today, and that was what happened. Later Mr. Malhotra described the Opposition behaviour as undemocratic and against parliamentary traditions.

With media reports also suggesting that the Gujarat Government had not taken timely action and the police stood and watched the violence and arson, the BJP condemned the non- observance of a code of conduct by the press. Mr Malhotra charged that a section of the media only publicised violent incidents when Muslims were victims. But when asked to give concrete instances, Mr. Malhotra said he was only talking about a ``section'' of the media.

Like the Government, the party has also from the day of the Godhra incident, not ruled out the possibility of the hand of some terrorist outfits, or even the ISI, in what happened there. What they seem certain about was that the Godhra attack was pre-meditated. The train had stopped for just 5 minutes - between 7.43 and 7.48 a.m. - on that fateful day. But after it moved out, it was stopped a kilometre away where a mob seemed to be ready to perpetrate the worse kind of carnage

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/02/stories/2002030203201100.htm

It's a black mark, says PM (MARCH 2 2002)
By Our Special Correspondent

A Hindu family looking out of its burnt home in a Muslim-dominated area in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Many people were scared to leave their homes because of the curfew and continuing violence in the streets. - AP

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2. Appealing for calm in Gujarat and the rest of the country, the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, today described the violence in the State as a ``black mark on the nation's forehead'' and conceded that the senseless massacre of women and children had ``lowered India's prestige in the world''.

In a televised address, Mr. Vajpayee invoked the joint appeal issued by the all-party meeting on Friday and expressed the hope that the country would come through the current crisis. The Prime Minister, however, neither patted nor indicted the Gujarat Government for its handling of the post-Godhra situation.

Later, Mr. Vajpayee consulted the Sangh Parivar leaders on how best to avoid a confrontation with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on the Ayodhya issue. He and his Ministerial and party colleagues - L.K. Advani, Jana Krishnamurthi and Kushabhau Thakre - held talks with the RSS leaders, Madandas Devi and H.V. Seshadri.

Mr. Vajpayee had enlisted the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to mediate between the Government and the recalcitrant VHP. After the confabulations at the Prime Minister's residence, Mr. Devi announced that ``religious leaders'' would meet Mr. Vajpayee and or Mr. Advani and expressed the hope that a solution could be round the corner.

It is believed that the Ramjanmabhoomi Trust leader, Mahant Paramhans, is likely to be here tomorrow, but the Mahant is reported to be reluctant to travel to the Prime Minister's residence. Though the RSS leaders are confident of a ``solution'', they feel that the onus is on the Government to make an offer the `sants' could accept.

VHP demarche to Govt.

Notwithstanding the RSS optimism, Mr. Vajpayee's efforts to make the VHP see reason appear to have run into trouble. Even though a VHP spokesman expressed concern of sorts over the unending violence in Gujarat, what he had to say about the Ayodhya imbroglio brought no cheer to the Government. The spokesman, Veereshwar Dwivedi, issued a kind of demarche to the Government, making three demands: first, that the VHP be allowed to carry out its March 15 programme; second, that the Government return within three months the 43 acres of land acquired by it at Ayodhya to the VHP; and third, that all the restrictions on the movement of `kar sevaks' in Ayodhya be removed. For good measure, the spokesman wanted a written undertaking from the Prime Minister and only then could the organisation consider his appeal for ``suspending'' its ``movement''.

Similarly, the Prime Minister received mixed comfort from the RSS chief, K.C. Sudarshan. In a statement from Bhatinda, Mr. Sudarshan said that the senseless violence should stop because Pakistan-inspired elements were ``trying to destroy our national unity''. He appealed to Muslims not to ``tolerate people who indulge in such heinous activities in the name of Islam''.

Curbs on `kar sevaks' criticised

If this plea for sanity did provide some comfort to the Prime minister, the RSS chief nonetheless warned that the Governments - Central or in the States - had no business curbing the citizens' democratic right to travel to Ayodhya. Restrictions imposed on the `kar sevaks' were an affront to the ``Hindu sentiments'' and the Government was duty-bound to provide security to all those who wanted to make a pilgrimage to a holy place, he said.

This part of the statement is being explained as part of the RSS leadership's effort to humour the VHP.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030303010100.htm

86 killed in fresh incidents in Gujarat (MARCH 2 2002)
By Manas Dasgupta

The Army patrolling a street in Ahmedabad on Saturday. - AP

AHMEDABAD, MARCH 2. As many as 86 people were killed in fresh incidents of violence in different parts of Gujarat today with disturbances spreading to newer and remote rural areas, even as the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, claimed that the situation was ``fast returning to normalcy'' in the State.

In yet another incident, 27 persons were burnt alive at Sadarpar village in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana district, while seven persons met a similar fate in a bakery near Dabhoi town in Baroda district. Four persons were also burnt alive at Por village and one was stabbed to death in Kalol town in Gandhinagar district. At least 47 persons have been killed in police firings in different cities and towns since last night, including 19 in Ahmedabad city alone where the police had to open fire repeatedly to disperse violent mobs engaged in pitched battle. Eight people were killed in police firing in Godhra town.

For the first time, disturbances have spread to the capital district of Gandhinagar and Surat and Bhavnagar cities where indefinite curfew was clamped after 22 people were killed in stabbing and police firing. Curfew, however, was partially lifted from 14 cities and towns, including Ahmedabad, to give a semblance of normalcy, but at least 40 cities and towns in the State were under indefinite curfew.

The death toll, according to Mr. Modi had reached 289, including 160 in Ahmedabad, but unconfirmed reports put the toll at above 350. Mr. Modi denied that 30 persons were burnt alive in Pandarvada village near Godhra yesterday and claimed that nine persons belonging to both the communities were killed in clashes in the village.

Mr. Modi said the incident in Sadarpar was sparked by rumours that the minorities had collected in a building and were preparing to attack and in retaliation, the majority community set fire to the building.

In Surat, two mosques, at least 15 houses of the minorities and a timber market were set ablaze in Pakhinawad. Five people were killed in stabbing in Gopipura and some other parts of the city following which an indefinite curfew was clamped in five police station areas. In Bhavnagar, one person was killed in police firing and four were stabbed to death forcing the police to impose indefinite curfew.

Mr. Modi said Border Security Force units had been despatched to Surat to assist the civil authorities to maintain law and order and the Government would consider sending the army to the diamond city after the promised second brigade reached Ahmedabad.

The situation, however, has improved in Ahmedabad today where no major incidents of arson were reported since last night though members of the two communities were engaged in pitched battles pelting stones and acid bulbs necessitating the police to open fire at several places. In the only case of the patrolling army units opening fire to disperse violent mobs, two persons were injured in the industrial belt of Odhav.

In the interiors of the western suburbs of the city, some shops and other business establishments reopened today after two days.

Even while claiming that the situation was improving, Mr. Modi said the police fired at least 1,031 rounds in different parts of the State since last night besides bursting 1,614 teargas shells to disperse violent mobs. While 19 people were killed in police firing in Ahmedabad and eight in Godhra, six people were killed in police firing in Baroda, five in Anand, three each in Mehsana and Gandhinagar, two in Kaira and one in Bhavnagar.

The toll in stabbing and arson was officially put at 242 in which Ahmedabad alone accounted for 131 killings and Mehsana, the home district of the Chief Minister, 40. Even the tribal-dominated districts of Sabarkantha and Dahod accounted for 15 and 10 deaths respectively. Strongly denying that the police had failed to act in time, Mr. Modi claimed that ``90 per cent areas'' in the State remained incident-free because of the pro-active role played by the police. The presence of the army had created a ``salutary effect'' in bringing the situation under control in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Godhra.

Mr. Modi convened a meeting of the leaders of political parties here this evening to discuss the riot situation but it was boycotted by the Congress.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030303020100.htm

Sonia not for any concession to VHP 
By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MARCH 2. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today criticised the ``tardy manner'' in which the Gujarat Government handled the disturbances in the State, and felt that it should have taken effective steps to deploy the Army in the areas affected by riots. During a brief stopover here on her way to Bellary, Ms. Gandhi told presspersons that she did not foresee mid-term elections to the Lok Sabha in view of the prevailing situation in the country. ``I am not an astrologer to foresee the future,'' she said.

PTI reports:

Urging the Vajpayee Government not to make any concessions to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ms. Gandhi said she did not favour the Government making any ``bargain'' with the Sangh Parivar outfit on the Ram temple issue.

``I do not believe in bargains'', Ms. Gandhi said when asked about a VHP demand for a written assurance from the Government on the Ayodhya issue. The VHP had said on Friday that it was willing to consider postponement of its plans to construct the temple from March 15 if the Government or the RSS gave it a written assurance that worshipping of pillars would be allowed on the acquired land in Ayodhya within three months.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030303040100.htm

Sonia may stage dharna 

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi is likely to stage a `dharna' in Parliament on Monday, in protest against the continued killings in Gujarat and the Central and State Governments' failure to maintain law and order, party sources said.

Ms. Gandhi, who had earlier strongly condemned the killings, had demanded that the disturbed areas in Gujarat be handed over immediately to the Army, to safeguard the life and property of the people. -PTI 

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030306030100.htm

'Steps not taken to restore law and order' 
By Our Staff Correspondent

TORANAGAL (BELLARY DT), MARCH 2. The Gujarat Government has not been responding to the challenge and maintaining law and order in the State, Ambika Soni, AICC general secretary, said here on Saturday. Ms. Soni, who accompanied the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, to the district, told presspersons that steps had not been taken to restore law and order in Gujarat and make the people feel secure. Unfortunately, the State Government had not been responding to the challenge, she said.

Stating that the Congress was the first party to condemn the killings in Godhra, Ms. Soni said that it was premature to come to a conclusion about the involvement of Pakistan's ISI in the incident. ``The first item on the agenda should be restoration of law and order,'' she added. Asked whether the Congress would support the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, she said Ms. Gandhi was in the process of consultation on that issue.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030303000100.htm