Sudarshan meets Advani

New Delhi: RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan met L.K. Advani for over an hour on Friday for talks on choosing the BJP president’s successor, reports our special correspondent.

Advani is scheduled to step down in December.

Ever since Advani’s comments on Mohammad Ali Jinnah, all channels of dialogue between the top leaders of the BJP and the Sangh had snapped.

The Sangh has prevailed on the BJP to adapt itself to the idea of a collective leadership where office-bearers are elected and no individual commands all powers.

What remains to be done now, sources said, is to work out the modalities of the transition and choose a chief from among the second-rung leaders.

“Sudarshanji is going off to Assam from Delhi. He will be travelling to Bihar and Jharkhand after that. He will be back in Nagpur only around mid-December, a few days before the BJP’s national executive,” said a Sangh source.

Riot questions irk Modi

New Delhi: India’s best-governed state, a global destination, uninterrupted power supply?. Narendra Modi was just about coming to the end of his Gujarat “vision” speech when he stopped with a frown.

spoilsport scribe had just asked an irritating question: “If Gujarat is such a prosperous, progressive state, why are the minorities still so insecure?”

“Any other question?” the chief minister’s tone was frosty.

“What steps have you taken to ensure the guilty of Gujarat riots are punished?” someone else asked. “Why are you not answering questions?”

odi had had enough. He got up and declared: “I think this session is over.”

ust as he was leaving the media conference, followed by TV crews who repeated the same questions, Modi shot back: “Come to Gujarat and see for yourself. I can see that you are not convinced what a vibrant state it is.”

Azad on terror

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has taken a tough stand against militants, asking “people to rise against them with one voice”, reports our correspondent.

“These terrorists carry on their activities because people keep mum and terrorists believe they have their support,” he said at a news conference. “When people rise against them in one voice, 90 per cent of terrorism would vanish. They should join the government for a decisive battle against terrorism.”

He also made it clear that the government would hold talks only with “those militants who abjure violence”.

Airport explosive

Chennai: Officials at the Chennai airport went into a tizzy on Friday after an explosive device was found in a piece of general cargo from Luxembourg. It is yet to be identified. No damage was done as it was detected soon after being off-loaded from a Cargolux flight around 4 pm.The Air Force Symphony band will for the first time perform in public on the lawns of India Gate on Saturday. The event has been organised following directions from the President.

The Air Force Symphony band will for the first time perform in public on the lawns of India Gate on Saturday. The event has been organised following
directions from the President.