The Hindu : New Delhi News : Amarnath row: Advani vows to take fight to end

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Amarnath row: Advani vows to take fight to end

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

“People following any religion should get equal rights”

“The dispute is not just about land and rights of one community”
Rajnath: We will enact law stricter than POTA when we come to power

NEW DELHI: Extending support to those fighting for transfer of land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, BJP leader L.K. Advani has said his party would take this fight to the end.

Addressing a Yuva Kranti rally organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha on the Ramlila Maidan here, he said: “We are proud that India is a secular country but that should mean that people following any religion should get equal rights. While subsidies and land are being offered to Muslims, why are Hindus not being given the same rights when it comes to the Amarnath case?”

Seconding Mr. Advani’s support to Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, senior leader Sushma Swaraj said: “The dispute is not just about land and the rights of one community. Hindus and Muslims have equal rights in the country and we want to know why then a particular community is denied what should be rightfully theirs.”

Adverting to the recent trust vote in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Advani said the “trading of politicians” saddened him. “It was a very sad day for Indian democracy. We were surprised that the government at the Centre did not bother about what the rest of the world would say about this. We want to tell the Central government that the democracy of India has been scarred and what they did so publicly came as a very bad shock for us.”

Ms. Swaraj said: “The confidence vote was not really won as the Central government had to buy candidates to remain in power. This is the victory of money power and not of democracy. Because of this, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s clean image too has taken a beating. Our party has taken it upon itself to enlighten the general public on what really happened during the trust vote.”

BJP national president Rajnath Singh raised the issue of terrorism and price rise. “Terrorism is on the rise in the country and the common man is hit because of price rise. The Central government has not been able to provide any kind of security to its people.”

Mr. Singh said: “We cannot fight terror with the present laws. We will enact a law stricter than the POTA when we come to power.”

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