PM denounces defiling of Quran

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. Denouncing the fanatics who burned the Holy Quran, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today warned of ``swift and stern action'' against them. Calling the miscreants ``irreligious and anti-national criminals'', the Prime Minister urged the State Governments to take action.

Mr. Vajpayee issued the statement after a report surfaced of the burning of the book in Chandigarh, supposedly by a group that claimed to belong to the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Surkasha Samiti. Though he did not name any outfit, his intention was clear. ``Those miscreants who are reported to have defiled the Holy Quran as a protest against the destruction of the statutes of the Buddha in Afghanistan are therefore irreligious and anti-national criminals. The barbaric desecration of the Bamiyan Buddhas was condemned by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.''

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