Attack on Congress Legislature Party leader fuels Bengal violence; bandh today

Violence erupted across West Bengal on Thursday as a spillover of the attack on a Congress Legislature Party team which was visiting trouble-torn villages in Burdwan’s Mongolkot, allegedly by CPM supporters, on Wednesday. As news of the incident spread, Congress workers blocked roads, railway tracks and set state buses on fire before calling a Bengal bandh on Friday.

In New Delhi, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said he had been briefed about the situation in the affected areas. “We have sent a message to the state government and asked them to send a report. Let the report come,” he said, adding that the Home Secretary had spoken to the state Chief Secretary.

Clearly on the backfoot, the CPM and the state government took a soft stand, with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee assuring that the culprits will be punished. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, extended its “moral support” for the bandh

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Firing in Vienna, fires in Punjab

Two persons were killed and more than a dozen injured in violence across Punjab and parts of Haryana today after Sant Ramanand of Dera Sachkhand, injured in an attack in Vienna on Sunday, died in hospital. Angry Dera followers took to the streets, torching at least 11 train coaches and an engine, stoning buses, blocking traffic and clashing with police at several places.

The Army was called out in in Jalandhar, Phagwara and Hoshiarpur — curfew was imposed in the three cities and in Ludhiana — and placed on standby elsewhere. Cable operators were told to stop telecast of channels beaming pictures of the violence in Jalandhar.

Firing was reported from several places in Punjab as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal appealed for peace.

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Taliban storm Government buildings in heart of Kabul, kill 26

Taliban militants launched suicide bomb and gun attacks on Wednesday on three Afghan Government buildings, killing at least 26 people, in the worst and the most daring assault on the capital since 2001.

The Defence Ministry said eight suicide attackers also died in the near-simultaneous strikes on the prisons directorate, and justice and education ministries.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, told AFP in a telephone call that 16 suicide attackers had entered Kabul and would carry out a wave of strikes, as the violence sowed panic across the city.

“So far we have registered 26 people killed and 55 wounded,” Health Ministry spokesman Abdullah Fahim said. Most were civilians, he said.

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Gurjjar impasse continues as Bainsla sends Raje back empty-handed

With the toll in the Gujjar violence up to 38 dead and 80 injured, the Rajasthan government was today no closer to a break through. Gurjjar leader Col Kirori Singh Bainsla refused to travel to Jaipur for talks, and showed no signs of bending down as Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje flew down to Bayana, where the protestors continue to hold their stir.

Raje stayed for about 40 minutes and sent a message to Bainsla, who was at Kherawadi, about 15 km from Bayana. However, addressing a late-evening media conference, Bainsla ruled out talks unless the state government came out with a letter to the Centre recommending ST status for Gurjjars.

He also claimed that the Chief Minister had not come to Bayana - near the Dumria Railway Station, on the Delhi Mumbai rail route - for talks with him, but to survey the situation in the wake of the Gujjar agitation.

After that, Raje went back and called a meeting of her Cabinet, which was going on till late in the night.

Before leaving for Bayana, the Chief Minister had held a press conference at her residence in the state capital, waming that there was a limit to everything and that she would not allow the Gugjars to hold the state to ransom.

She also repeated that while her government was open for talks to resolve the issue peacefully, Bainsla had been rejecting her appeals. Bainsla and his supporters insist that any dialogue should take place on the railway tracks, in front of protestors.

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