The Hindu : `Match' has been won: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 26, 2004

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National

`Match' has been won: Advani

By Sarabjit Pandher

JALANDHAR, MARCH 25. Amid unprecedented security arrangements and protests by activists of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and radical Sikh organisations, the `Bharat Uday Yatra' of the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, crossed into Punjab today.

Mr. Advani resumed his cross-country journey this morning after a night halt in Chandigarh. The yatra, which has now completed 16 days, will culminate in Amritsar at a public rally tomorrow, after having traversed a distance of 8,000 km.

Amid threats from the Akali Dal (Amritsar), whose president, Simranjit Singh, has been detained, the State police laid out an elaborate arrangement of security. At most towns through which the yatra passed, marketplaces were closed and traffic were either diverted or stopped.

Despite the security dragnet and a major crackdown since yesterday, activists of the SAD (Amritsar) staged protests at Khumanon, Samrala and on the outskirts of Ludhiana city. They waved black flags and carried placards which said "Advani go back" as Mr. Advani's entourage passed by. Police resorted to the use of force at Ludhiana. About 500 persons were said to have been detained at different places. Along the route, Akali-BJP activists organised street-corner meetings.

The former Deputy Speaker and senior BJP leader from the city, S.P. Gossain, accused the Congress State Government of conspiring to prevent the event from becoming a success.

In his short addresses from the rooftop of his 'rath', Mr. Advani profusely mingled similes from the on-going cricket season to predict the results of the "political match" between the NDA and its opponents. He said that even before the first ball was bowled the match had been decided, as the country wanted Atal Bihari Vajpayee to retain the position of Prime Minister. He promised that soon all the six lakh villages of the country would be connected by road and would have proper facilities for health, education and drinking water. Mr. Advani urged Punjab to reclaim its number one position in the country, which according to him had reached the "take off stage" under the stewardship of Mr. Vajpayee. It was his desire to see India as the top country of the world and Punjab return as India's crowning glory. He said Punjab would soon be relieved of the "bekar sarkar" (useless State Government), while calling for a "decisive majority" instead of a "simple majority."

The Akali Dal president and former Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, joined the yatra at Jalandhar. His programme was altered as he was required to be present at the Golden Temple this morning, where a `kar seva' was initiated by the high priests to remove the slush from the `sarovar' of the holiest shrine of the Sikh community.

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