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Advani to go ahead with rally plan despite death threat
Lal Krishna Advani, the opposition's prime ministerial candidate, will go ahead with his planned rallies across the country.
- By Ajay Jha, Chief Correspondent
- Published: 23:41 February 5, 2008
New Delhi: Lal Krishna Advani, the opposition's prime ministerial candidate, will go ahead with his planned rallies across the country.
An announcement to this effect was made by the official spokesman of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The decision is being seen in the political circles as "daring" considering increased threat to his life from terrorist outfits.
National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan had suggested to Advani to curtail his public appearances and postpone his rallies by at least a month when he called on the veteran leader on Monday.
BJP circles say that Narayanan discussed all aspects of Advani's security in the meeting in view of intelligence tipoffs that threat to his life has increased following the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's decision to make Advani, the former deputy prime minister, their prime ministerial candidate for the forthcoming general elections.
Advani is already highly protected since his name figures on the hit list of various terrorist groups due to his past association with a pro-Hindu movement that led to the demolition of the 16th century Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in December 1992.
Intelligence agencies have informed the government that terrorist outfits owing allegiance to the Al Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden have dispatched suicide squads to target Advani.
A high level meeting attended by BJP's central office-bearers yesterday decided that the best course for them is to go ahead with the rallies as planned leaving the onus of ensuring Advani's safety to the security agencies.
"Even Advani is of the view that cowing down to terrorist threats would not be in the interest of the nation in general and the party in particular," a BJP office-bearer said.
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