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Political Notes

	September 10, 2007

Former Andhra Chief Minister survives Naxalite attack



Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Janardhana Reddy and his wife N. Rajyalakshmi, who is a Minister, escaped a landmine attack on Sept. 7, near Nellore. The blast is suspected to have been triggered by Maoists.



Janardhana Reddy, who is Congress Member of Parliament from Vishakhapatnam, was traveling in a bullet proof car in a convoy of 15 vehicles to Tirupati when the landmine went off. While Reddy’s car was saved, another vehicle took the full impact of the blast, resulting in the death of three persons.



This is the second attempt on Reddy’s life. The earlier one was in Guntur district four years ago. Reddy and his wife said they would not be cowed down by Maoist attacks.



Janardhana Reddy was Chief Minister when Naxalites were banned in the state for the first time in 1992.



Figures given out in the Rajya Sabha on Sept. 5 indicate that Naxalites have killed as many as 129 people’s representa¬tives and 411 government officials, mostly policemen, between 2004 and 2006. Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal gave the information in a written reply.



In another incident in Jharkhand, Naxalites killed two per¬sons in Digha village in East Singbhum district on Sept. 6 for not adhering to their diktats. The villagers had defied the Maoist directive to mobilise one woman from each family.





HUJI-LeT nexus in Hyderabad blasts



Interrogation of the August 25 Hyderabad twin blasts sus¬pects has revealed the network of Bangladesh-based terror outfit, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI) operations and their connections with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. The interrogation has also shown that the two terror groups may have sleeping cells in over two dozen cities in the country.



The narco-analysis test of one of the main suspects, Sheikh Abdul Kaleem and the call records of mobile SIMs which were allegedly procured by Kaleem by providing fake identity cards has revealed a long list of HUJI’s “over ground supporters” in India and their “masters” in Bangladesh and Pakistan.



“It is too early to act on the initial observations made by the intelligence agencies, which are based on technical analysis of call records of the SIMs seized from the possession of Kaleem. However, it has given a fair enough idea about their contacts in and outside the country,” said a senior officer of an intel¬ligence agency.



Though the security agencies might not be able to arrest the over-ground supporters of these terrorist outfits for lack of evidence, it would definitely help them in neutralizing and understanding many of their terror modules, the officer said. However, he did not rule out the arrest of some of these support¬ers in various cities “provided we could get enough evidence against them”.



The arrest of 10 people, including that of Abdul Kaleem alias Rafi, Sahi Rafzani, her brother Rizwan Gazi, has made available details of the movement of RDX into Hyderabad prior to Mecca Masjid blast of May this year.



The investigating agency is working on two lines now. One, to nab HUJI operatives in India and seize explosives being smug¬gled into India. And, secondly, to trace the movement of leading HUJI operatives like Abdul Shahid alias Bilal, Abu Hamza alias Abdul Bari, and Amjad alias Khaja, who are reportedly hiding in Bangladesh and Pakistan.



Investigations so far have revealed that Khaja and Hamza are hiding in Bangladesh and they were the one who had planned the Macca Masjid and recent Hyderabad blasts.





Anti-national forces behind the blasts : Sonia Gandhi



Congress president Sonia Gandhi has lashed out at the anti-national and anti-social forces behind the recent blasts in Hyderabad and said this was a conspiracy against the progress and prosperity of the country. Addressing a public meeting in Guntur on Sept. 2, she expressed her shock and dismay at the loss of lives in the twin blasts in Hyderabad. Sonia Gandhi urged all political parties to extend cooperation in fighting the forces behind such incidents and not bring politics into it.



Meanwhile, the Centre has issued a nation-wide alert asking state police forces to step up vigil in crowded areas and remain sensitive to intelligence tipoffs during festival days.





Byelection results : JMM retains Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat



The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has retained the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat, winning the byelection with a margin of about 60,000 votes. JMM candidates Suman Mahto, wife of slain MP Sunil Mahto polled over 2,93,000 votes while BJP candidate Dinesh Sarangi came second with over 2,34,000. The seat fell vacant after the killing of Sunil Mahto by Maoists.



The polling took place on August 29.



In Uttrakhand, Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri registered a thumping victory in Dhumakot assembly byelection, defeating his nearest Congress rival by over 14,000 votes. The election became necessary following the resignation of former Congress Minister T.P.S. Rawat who joined the BJP after resigning from the Congress.



In Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party wrested two of the three seats for which byelections were held from the Samajwadi Party. The Samajwadi Party was, however, able to retain Gannaur seat.